What About Us?
by Ellie-Isabella99
Summary: "And what about us" he whispered, causing her to turn around and face him. "…there can't be an us, Eddie" Nina replied. As the Anubis residents return for yet another year at their English boarding school, the mysteries are over leaving just the angst of young, teenage love for the students to cope with. Maybe it was easier when they had an Ancient Egyptian mystery to solve...
1. Chapter 1

"Nina! Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Fabian noticed his mousy brown haired girlfriend making her way down the stairs and saw his chance to do the thing he'd been dreading for the past couple of weeks.

"Yeah, sure" she grinned at her boyfriend, reaching the bottom of the stairs and standing in front of him.

They'd been back at Anubis house for a few weeks now after their summer break and they'd just returned to the school for their first day of school, all ten of them: Nina, Amber, Mara, Patricia, Joy, Fabian, Eddie, Alfie, Jerome and even Mick had permanently returned from Australia. His Dad had been reinstated back in England with double the salary he was on before, and Mick was more than happy to make the move back with him. Suffice to say, the house was pretty full these days.

"U-umm, N-Nina, you've been my b-best friend ever since y-you first came to A-Anubis. And y-you're one of the nicest p-people I've ever met…" Fabian closed his eyes in an effort to give his jittering stomach a chance to calm down, before finding the right words to do this.

"Why do you sound so nervous Fabian, now I see why they call you stutter rutter" she teased, but after seeing his petrified expression, she started to worry about what this conversation was. "Okay, you're scaring me now, this is starting to sound like a break up speech" she continued, but this time she was only half joking.

But this was Fabian, and sure he seemed to be getting along with Joy a lot better lately since they'd come back for the new term, but they were friends before Nina even arrived here. Besides, he was _Nina's _best friend and her boyfriend after all.

Surely, he wasn't about to break her heart, was he?

"W-Well…" he began, but couldn't quite find it in him to continue. And besides, that one word alone was confirmation enough.

"Oh my god…" Nina sank down onto the bottom step of the stairs.

"I'm _so sorry Nina_, I nev-

"Why?"

"W-what?" he gulped.

"Why, Fabian? We were so happy, well at least that's what I thought" Nina spoke with her eyes closed the entire time, for if she looked at him while he delivered these next heart-wrenching words, she didn't think she'd be able to hold back the tears.

"We were, I was!" Fabian joined her on the step, "I really did like you Nina!" the way he said 'did' broke her heart into even tinier pieces than it was shattered in already. "Ever since we first met I knew I had a crush on you. But now, it just seems like we're better off as friends. And besides, now that you've been hanging around with Eddie so much more recent-

"_Eddie_?! Is this what this is about?! The only reason, _Fabian_, that I've been hanging around with Eddie so much is because you're always with Joy! And after everything that happened last year, I just couldn't deal with being around you whenever Joy was there. And Amber has been spending so much time with Alfie, which is great don't get me wrong, but I don't wanna be the third wheel in their relationship. So yeah, I've been with Eddie but we're _just friends_! We've just been figuring out the whole osirion thing" Nina breathed quickly, wondering if this was the reason he'd decided to end their relationship.

It was true, her and Eddie _had _been spending a lot of time together these past few weeks. But like she said, she felt uncomfortable being around her boyfriend while his old flame was constantly hanging around, her best friend was with her boyfriend twenty four seven, Jerome and Mara were spending so much time together it seemed as if they were now joined at the hip, Mick was either out running or staring longingly at Mara, and Piper had been visiting up until yesterday so Patricia spent all her time bonding with her sister. So yes, her and Eddie were around each other a lot and she did enjoy his company, but even if she didn't, she didn't have much choice.

If anything, that's what she hoped was what made him break up with her. If it was, then that was fixable; she could easily explain that there was nothing going on between Eddie and her. It was if it was because of something else that scared her.

"No, no, it's not because of Eddie. A-actually, it's b-because I've been spending more t-time with Joy. I know she was r-really mean last year, trying to b-break us up, but at the end she kind of a-accepted us. She always speaks highly of you now and it kinda-

"-makes you remember what you used to like about her in the first place" Nina finished off for him.

"Yeah, exactly" Fabian flickered his eyes to her, eyes loaded with guilt, hurt and even a little fear. Maybe he thought she was going to go after Joy now, but if he thought that, then he obviously didn't know her very well at all. Maybe the break up was for the best.

"Don't look so worried Fabian, I'll be fine, really" she laughed at his expression. "It's just gonna be a little weird you not being my boyfriend anymore" she whispered, hoping she masked the longing and hurt in her voice well enough. He seemed to buy it.

"Friends?" he smiled, sticking out his hand for her to shake. She didn't realise how much it would hurt hearing him say that.

"Friends" she replied attempting what she hoped was a convincing enough smile, before he had a genuine smile on his face, knowing that Nina wasn't mad at him, at least not _too _mad anyway.

Thinking that there wasn't much left to say, Fabian quickly said bye to Nina before going off in search of Joy; he couldn't hide anymore just how much he really liked her. He hoped his calm break up with Nina would mean that she was okay with them, even if she did still have feelings for him.

Remaining on the bottom stair in Anubis House, Nina hid her head in her arms as she hugged her knees close to her chest. She couldn't find the will to move from that spot, and she felt that if she did, the floor would just swallow her up and take her away somewhere. And she kind of wished it would.

"Hey there sleepy" Eddie joined Nina on the step, taking a seat next to her.

"I'm not sleepy…just upset" Nina admitted as she laid her head on Eddie's shoulder, "what were you doing upstairs anyway? In Patricia's room, making up after your last fight?" she asked, feeling the need to be cheered up by someone else's good, happy relationship.

"I just got dumped"

"Ouch, that sucks"

"Yeah" he chuckled, glad that she hadn't apologised or something stupid like that. He hated when people did that, it's not like it was their fault, so why apologise? "So what's got you so down in the dumps?" he asked.

"Same as you" she sighed, resting comfortably on his shoulder.

"Patricia dumped you too..?" he raised his eyebrows in an attempt to make a joke, and it seemed to work as Nina laughed.

"Nooooo, not _Patricia, Fabian_" she replied smiling in spite of her negative mood.

"Really? Wow, I thought you two were all loved up and stuff"

"Yeah, well, so did I" she admitted, back to her glum expression she wore before Eddie had come and had actually cheered her up slightly.

"You know what? You're too good for him" he stated.

"Yah, right…" she scoffed, mentally listing all the perfect things she liked about Fabian. She'd bet his list was twice as long as hers.

"No, I'm serious! You're gorgeous, he's average. Sure he's smart but he's too nerdy" Eddie crinkled his nose as Nina laughed at the face he was pulling, "but you're just the right amount of smart, the sexy kind" he winked at her while she tried to hide the blush rising to her cheeks.

"A-a-and he a-always t-t-talks with a st-stutt-tter" Eddie stammered, poking fun at Fabian's inability to get out his words when he was particularly stressed or nervous.

"Shut up!" she playfully shoved his shoulder, laughing genuinely at Eddie's impression that was surprisingly realistic.

"It's true! Plus, he can't be that smart"

"Why not?" she puzzled, a bit confused by his statement.

"Because he let go of you" at his words, Nina felt the happiest she had since they returned for the school year. Even though she didn't anticipate the break up with Fabian, she hadn't felt all that good about being pushed aside whilst he hung out with Joy. Eddie was making her feel the best she'd felt about herself in weeks.

"Thanks Eddie, that really means a lot. Why can't all boys be like you?" she looked at him, hoping to portray just how much she meant what she was saying.

"Stick with me kid, the two poor dumpers together" he joked, throwing an arm around her as he did so.

Nina laughed out loud again for the fourth time in only five minutes, just from talking to Eddie. At that moment, Trudy announced that supper was ready. Did that mean tea? Nina was never going to get the hang of these English phrases.

"You coming?" Eddie asked standing up and gesturing for her to follow him.

"Yeah, just a sec. I think I'm gonna go clean myself up first" she half smiled as she quickly jogged to the bathroom, cleaning herself up.


	2. Chapter 2

After quickly reapplying a light layer of make-up, Nina made her way into the dining room but stopped short when she could see everybody sat at the table, with the exception of Joy and Alfie. She hadn't even considered that the seating arrangements would change with the arrival and exit of couples. But now, she noticed that at one side of the table sat Mick at the head, followed by an empty seat then Amber, Fabian and another empty seat. At the opposite head sat Patricia who no longer sat by Eddie, but at her other side was Mara, then Jerome, then Eddie and another empty seat.

She couldn't sit next to Amber; she'd be saving that seat for Alfie, sitting next to Fabian would just be awkward so there was only one empty seat next to Eddie left.

And on noticing her hesitation, he smiled encouragingly before calling her over to sit next to him. She smiled gratefully at him, before sitting down at the table where he took hold of her hand under the table and squeezed it reassuringly. Her blush and unusual seating arrangement didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the table.

"Well, well. What's going on here?" Jerome pondered with his mischievous face coming to the surface.

"Yeah Nins, why didn't you sit next to Fabian?" Amber twirled a lock of her hair absentmindedly between her fingers while staring curiously between her best friend and her now ex-boyfriend.

"Um, Fabian and I broke up…" Nina looked down taking a sudden interest in her plate.

"You WHAT?!" Amber screeched slamming her fists down on the table when, at that moment, Alfie and Joy walked in, "YOU! This is all YOUR fault, isn't it? Couldn't keep your dirty little crush to yourself, could you? So you decided to break Fabina up…WHAT ABOUT MY FABINA SCRAPBOOK?!" she squealed at Joy, sending daggers along the table at where she took her seat next to Fabian.

"Amber, _please_, just _leave it_" Nina whispered tightly squeezing her eyes shut, trying to avoid the situation arising.

"So, tell me, was it 'mutual' again like it was the last time? 'Cos you know that it won't last, once they both realise how much they're made for each other" Amber announced flicking her hair.

Fabian looked down in embarrassment when Amber said this, which really riled up Eddie.

"No, it wasn't mutual. _Fabian _dumped _Nina_" Eddie stated clenching his jaw, as he could barely control his anger towards him for hurting something so fragile like Nina.

"YOU WHAT?!" Amber exploded while Alfie tried his best to calm her down.

Jerome watched on with an amused expression as Amber verbally bashed Joy, while Mara constantly looked concerned for the row breaking out with her friends. Fabian tried his best to defend Joy, which consequently resulted in Amber shouting even more as Alfie couldn't find the right combination of words to relax her. Patricia's eyes kept flickering around the whole table, following the argument with just about every expression a girl could have crossing her face at one point or another. Mick, well Mick just looked plain confused.

"Wanna get out of here" Eddie whispered to Nina as she replied with a meek nod.

Scraping his chair back from the table, Eddie stood up reaching his hand out which Nina gratefully took as he led the two outside while everyone else simply watched them leave, all the while Amber continued on in her fabina rage.

"You alright?" Eddie whispered to Nina as they sat on a bench outside of Anubis House.

Nina sat with her head laid on his shoulder, just trying to stop her emotions overwhelming her in a cascade of tears that she knew would start to drip down if she didn't try her very hardest to contain them.

Rather, than answer, she simply tried to nod her head a little, causing Eddie to look at her face and notice the very first of her tears start to pour.

"Hey, hey, come on. It's okay" he gently whispered as he reached out to wrap his arms around her, resting his chin on her head whilst continuing to whisper soothing things to her as her gentle sobs rocked their bodies.

"I-I-I'm so so-sorry, I d-don't-t even kn-know why I'm c-crying. I h-haven't even b-b-been with Fabian that l-long. B-b-but it just hurts s-so much seeing h-him with he-her" she shook with sadness and it just destroyed Eddie's heart seeing her so helpless and basically heart broken. He guessed that seeing Joy sit down by Fabian just made her realise how much she liked him, but also made her realise that he felt the exact same way but about Joy.

She continued to softly weep in Eddie's chest for a few more minutes before she managed to choke out her last tears.

"Gosh, I sound so pathetic" she exclaimed pulling away from him.

"No, no you don't. You've just seen your ex-boyfriend who dumped you less than an hour ago with the girl he's told you he likes and the whole house has been discussing him breaking up with you, with Amber hysterically screaming to a pitch I didn't think was humanly possible. I'd be more worried if you _weren't _crying" he tried to comfort her, reassuringly reaching out and grabbing her hand in an effort to do so.

"Relationships suck" she scrunched her nose up saying something that she hoped wouldn't reduce her to tears again.

"Yeah they do" Eddie laughed at Nina, _his _Nina.

Normal girls would still be in hysterics, sobbing their little hearts out about how life wasn't fair and how much they loved their old boyfriend. They wouldn't be apologising for crying or claim that they didn't know why they were reacting like that because they hadn't been with him for that long. They wouldn't think that they were pathetic for crying about it. And they definitely wouldn't come out with 'relationships suck' in the joking manner that she did. But this was Nina, and she didn't do normal.

"You're amazing" Eddie smiled down at her, and as soon as he said it he was extremely embarrassed. But Nina just laughed and grinned at him, which made him feel less awkward.

"Of course I am, that's why I'm your favourite person in this house. Come on Mr. Emotional, let's go inside where all the normal kids play" she got up from the bench offering Eddie her hand, which he gladly took before heading back into the house.

But when they reached the hallway, Nina turned around to Eddie.

"Oh my gosh, how do I look?" panic spiralled in her eyes, suddenly panicking.

Did she still want to look good for that jerk who broke her heart? Eddie really wanted to just go in there and punch him.

"Beautiful" he replied, though his eyebrows were raised with a mask of confusion on his face.

As if understanding his underlying question, she shoved him laughing gently.

"Not for that reason, doofus. I don't want people to think I've been crying! Have I got mascara all down my face?" she asked.

"No, no, you look fine. Fabian, eat your heart out and all that chizz. And what's 'mascara'?" he questioned whilst they began to make their way into the living room; dinner must have been over by now and that's where everyone was probably going to be.

"Are you kidding me? You don't know what mascara is?"

"No, because you know what? I'm not actually a teenage girl" he sarcastically commented as Nina laughed, shaking her head gently.

"You're stupid" Nina sighed as they glanced around the room seeing eight pairs of eyes on them. After supper, the rest of the house had congregated to the living room and on hearing Nina's laugh in the hallway, everyone turned silent listening to Eddie and Nina's banter.

"Erm, hey guys?" Nina said, almost as a question. No one really knew what to say, and tensions were high all over the house. Amber was still furious at Joy, and Fabian, but mostly Joy. She'd stopped shouting now after Alfie finally managed to calm her down but her anger was just seething under the surface, waiting for someone to set her off again. Joy was mad at Fabian for not sticking up for her more, Mick was mad at Jerome for making an 'unnecessarily mean comment' although it was probably more due to the fact that Mick hated Jerome period, Patricia was mad at Eddie but that wasn't really anything new and Eddie was mad at Fabian. It seemed there was only Nina who wasn't actually mad at anyone. She wasn't mad at Fabian for breaking up with her, just very hurt, nor was she mad at Joy. Joy knew him first and she technically hadn't done anything wrong, if anything, she'd been trying to build some bridges with Nina recently. No, she wasn't mad at anyone.

"Such a nice welcoming committee" Eddie muttered under his breath as Nina elbowed him in the ribs.

"So guys, I was thinking, we should have an Anubis House get together tonight. You know, welcoming everyone back to the new year? Get Trudy to do some nice baking, maybe play some little games?" Nina asked, making a move to sit on the floor besides where Amber was currently lounging against Alfie's legs.

After a few seconds of silence, and a pleading look from Nina, Amber spoke up.

"Yay! That's a great idea Nina! We can play spin the bottle, and truth or dare and-

"I'm in if we're playing truth or dare, maybe we'll see goody two shoes stutter rutter here do something daring for once" Jerome laughed from where he was sat on the sofa with Mara, his arm slung around her shoulders.

"Hey!" Fabian cried in defiance as everyone laughed at his reaction, gradually breaking the unnatural silence that filled the house a few moments ago.

Eddie, however, was still stood in the doorway of the room, glaring at Fabian. But after a disapproving look from Nina and a few seconds hesitation, he sighed before joining her on the floor. This action not unnoticed by Patricia who kept her eyes on him for the remainder of the day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thankyou so much for the great reviews! I'm not going to be one of those authors who say 'twenty reviews and i'll post the next chapter' but it was really great to get them! Thanyou all, hope you enjoy this Jara chapter :-)**

* * *

"Okay, you're turn to spin Alfie"

"Okalie dokalie" Alfie span the bottle, landing on Mara who outwardly groaned. "Alrighty Mara, truth or dare" Alfie raised his eyes questioningly. After the last time she chose truth and ended up revealing to her house mates about the time in year 3 when she'd peed her pants in assembly when she'd been forced to sing twinkle twinkle little star in front of everybody, she thought dare might actually be the better option.

"I dare you to…KISS JEROME!"

"Alfie, you really suck at dares. The point is to dare someone to do something that makes them feel uncomfortable, or scared, or at least not something _they enjoy_" Jerome explained to Alfie.

"Who said I enjoy your kisses" Mara questioned playfully grinning at him while the rest of the house oo'ed.

"…that hurt" Jerome mocked sadness, lowering his head as he made his voice crack.

Mara giggling at his reaction along with the rest of the house lifted his chin up so he was looking into her eyes and grinned at him.

"Jerome, I love you" she leaned in to his lips, kissing him while Amber, Joy and Nina aw'ed. Patricia, not that she was one to appreciate the adorableness of couples anyway, was too busy watching Eddie watching Nina to aw. As Nina was smiling at the cute couple in front of her, Eddie was just smiling at Nina; he loved how it always reached her eyes when she smiled and it was always contagious.

She knew it was the right thing to break up with him; they weren't in a normal relationship. She wasn't a normal girl like Amber, or Mara, or Nina, or Joy who had cute little relationships. Watching Mara and Jerome right now would have probably made her vomit if she was paying attention. But that didn't mean that she didn't want it for herself, a _normal _relationship. And what her and Eddie had certainly wasn't normal. They argued, they fought, they were constantly disagreeing and angry at one another and while she did have very strong feelings for Eddie, they just didn't work how she wanted them to. She didn't know what came over her, but whenever they spent time together, she just had to insult him. It was in her nature.

As Mara and Jerome pulled out of their kiss, her hands cupping his cheeks while he held her waist, Mara gently whispered "and I do enjoy your kisses".

"Okaaaaay, that's enough PDA for one night, swiftly moving oooooooon, Mick!" Joy span the bottle giddily, she was really enjoying herself tonight. Last term, she didn't know what came over her. She just felt like her whole life had been snatched away from her and everyone preferred the new girl to their old friend, just because she was gone for a term. But now, she was determined not to be that girl anymore. Of course, she still had a _very _big crush on Fabian, but she was peaceful with him and Nina right from the very beginning of the term. She didn't want any bad blood between her and her best guy friend, and she felt awful for what she did to Nina. And of course, now that they had broken up, she was going to keep being polite and civil. She just secretly hoped that Fabian would now consider having a possible relationship with her in the future.

"Truth or dare _Mr grumpy pants_" Joy pouted at him before smiling as everyone laughed along with her. Mick was being unnaturally quiet during the game, which the others instantly picked up on.

"Dare"

"Oo, oo! I got a good one Jerome _and _its uncomfortable!" Alfie grinned mischievously at his best friend. "I dare you to, kiss, _Mara_"

And just like that, the tension in the room escalated again. Jerome's face physically paled whilst most people's eyes, including Mara's, simply widened in shock.

"Wh-what?" Mara stumbled across her words.

"A dares a dare" Mick announced.

Mara just looked over at Jerome who simply nodded whilst clenching his jaw.

She reassuringly squeezed Jerome's hand and whispered something in his ear which made him visibly relax and smile genuinely. "Go on then, it is just a game" Jerome laughed and it felt like the whole room breathed out a sigh of relief. Whatever Mara had said clearly was enough make Jerome trust his girlfriend.

She leaned forwards across the circle to Mick opposite and gave him a soft kiss that lasted a mere two seconds, before returning to her place in the circle and gave Jerome a quick peck on the cheek.

"Let's spin again" Amber squealed from where she was sitting on Alfie's lap, as the bottle landed on Nina.

"Okay, Nina, how many boyfriends have you had?"

"Amber, sweetie, I think you're supposed to ask her if she wants truth or dare first" Alfie smiled sweetly.

"Oh, right, I forgot, never mind! Answer the question Nina!" she grinned at her BAF(best American friend).

"Okay, well…seven"

"Seven?"

"…Seven?"

"_Seven?!_"

Several people in the circle exclaimed but the most interested response belonged to Eddie.

"Well, yeah. Danny, Chris, Tyler, James, Zack, Jake and…Fabian. I wasn't some hobo living on the streets before I came here and met you guys. I had a few boyfriends back in America and I'm actually still quite good friends with a few of them now" Nina replied, much to the surprise of everyone there. It was weird, no one really considered Nina's life before she came to Anubis.

"Come on guys, sevens not _that _many" Amber rolled her eyes at her friends, they were so oblivious when it came to romance.

"And how many guys have _you _dated Amber?" Jerome asked, immediately sensing the unease building up in his best friend sitting at the side of him.

"Twenty" she replied simply.

Alfie almost choked on the glass of water he was drinking, "_Tw-twenty?!" _he spluttered.

"Aw, don't worry boo! You're the best one yet!" Amber grinned at her boyfriend before kissing him on the cheek, leaving a dreamy expression on his face.

"Okay, time to spin again!" Amber stated as Alfie span the bottle before it stopped pointing once again at Mick.

"Okay Mick, what's the hardest thing you've ever done?"

"Oh that's easy, right Mick? Probably every test you've taken since the age of five" Jerome teased, his rivalry with Mara's ex bubbling to the surface. He'd had enough of Mick taunting him since they'd come back for the new term; he'd been constantly trying to re-spark his and Mara's relationship by talking about 'old times' and taking advantage of any moment where Jerome was otherwise occupied and he could try to get back together with Mara. _As if she would_, Jerome thought.

"Jerome!" Mara hissed, obviously appalled at his behaviour. Only for Mara, would he ever quit an argument and be 'the bigger person'.

"Actually, it probably would be leaving for Australia…and leaving behind Mara, the love of my life" Mick spoke in such a sickly loved up voice, it made Jerome want to be sick.

_Screw it_, Jerome thought, _who wants to be the bigger person anyway?_

"What are you playing at? Do you really think that this bull is going to win back Mara? News flash meathead, she's _mine_. Why would she want to date a preppy, Neanderthal, stupid, pathetic excuse for a guy like you? She dumped you mate, and for me as well_. _No wonder you're such a disappointment to your Dad. He expects you to be a doctor when all you can do is kick a ball around? Get over yourself, god, you're _so stupid_" Jerome sneered, his hatred for Mick causing everyone in the room to become deadly silent.

The wrath of Jerome Clarke wasn't something typically observed in the house, and to be honest, it wasn't nice.

Mara, shocked, appalled and partially ashamed at the ruthless words her boyfriend had just spoken mere moments ago, marched out of the room and slammed her bedroom door shut, echoing throughout the otherwise silent house.

"Mara! Mara, I'm sorry!" Jerome called after her, immediately pursuing her up the stairs.

Once he reached her door, he tried the handle but it was locked from the inside where he could tell Mara stood at the other side of the door.

"That was cruel and spiteful of you, Jerome. You, of all people, should understand that that was way out of line"

"I know, I'm sorry"

"Bringing up his family was a step too far! How would you have felt if that was you those cruel things were being said to!"

"I know, I'm sorry"

"Yes, I know he still likes me and has been trying to get back together but his feeble attempts aren't going to sway me, Jerome! It's you I love! There was no need for that!"

"I know, I'm sorry"

"And would you stop saying you're sorry already? I already forgive you!" Mara exclaimed as she opened the door and attacked him in a hug.

She never ceased to amaze Jerome with the things that she did. She really was amazing, and he really didn't deserve her.

"You're amazing" he kissed the top of her head as he wrapped his arms even tighter around her petite form.

"I know, now go apologise" she mumbled into his chest.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, what's that noise?" Alfie asked from his position next to Amber on the sofa. All the residents of Anubis were currently in the living room and all was at peace again after the drama of their truth or dare game a few nights ago. Mara was satisfied with Jerome's apology and Mick accepted it begrudgingly, only to appease Mara. Currently, Amber and Alfie were sat together flipping through one of Amber's fashion magazines, Jerome was sat at the other end of the sofa watching tv while Mara sat on his lap reading a book, Joy was sat on the floor debating with Patricia the best rom coms of all time, Mick was sat at the kitchen table eating whilst occasionally sneaking jealous glances at Mara and Jerome, Fabian was on the chair playing chess against his laptop as Eddie was sat on the floor plaiting Nina's hair. After finding out he used to do his little sister's hair all the time back home, Nina forced him to plait hers.

"Erm, I think it's my laptop" Nina looked surprised sweeping her laptop up onto the kitchen table as everyone followed her into the kitchen.

Opening up the flashing window, Nina clicked _Accept video call from Danny_ as the webcam switched on and an image of a tanned boy with short brown hair appeared on the screen.

"Danny, hey!" Nina grinned at the screen.

"Hey Nins, how's Hogwarts?"

"Danny? …As in your _ex-boyfriend Danny_?" Amber's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"And hello to the rest of the people on the camera who I presume are Nina's friends?" Danny stated to a mix of replies at the people currently gathering round Nina's computer.

"Hello!"

"Hey"

"'Sup"

"Danny, this is Amber, Alfie, Jerome, Mara, Eddie, Patricia, Fabian, Joy and Mick" Nina quickly introduced them.

"So Nina, how's the boyfriend? Still dreamy as ever?" Danny winked at the screen, obviously not being aware of recent events.

_"Oh my god Danny, her and Fabian broke up!" _Nina saw Danny's little brother Joey appear in the background racing into the room, obviously eavesdropping into their conversation.

"What? And how do _you _know?" Danny questioned suspiciously.

"Well when Charlotte and everyone came round earlier I heard her talking to Danielle about how someone had totally broken Nina's heart because she'd been on the phone sobbing to her the other day, telling her about how she'd been dumped"

"Go away lil bro, you know far too much" Danny shoved his little brother out of the room before returning back to the computer screen. Everyone back at the English side of the video chat were a little uncomfortable and awkward: Fabian was looking very guilty hearing about how Nina had cried on the phone to her friends back in America, and Eddie wanted to know how close Danny and Nina still were oceans apart.

"Okay, whose ass do I have to kick? Is it that Patricia again?"

"No" Nina laughed rolling her eyes at Danny, "me and Patricia are good friends now, I've _told _you this".

She'd told him? How often did they video chat? Had they always been in touch since she left America?

"Okay, I'm here if you need me Nins" Danny smiled.

"_Really Danny? She's been broken up from her boyfriend for five minutes and you're already making a move? There's this thing called tact you know, you might wanna think of using it sometimes" _

"God damn it Joey, STEP AWAY FROM MY BEDROOM DOOR AND QUIT EAVESDROPPING!" Danny turned around and yelled at his bedroom door. "He likes to think he's funny…he's not"

"Aw come on Dan, you know you had a crush on me in the fifth grade and sent me that valentines card" Nina teased making Danny blush.

"That wasn't me, it was DANNY WEST!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say! Anyway, was there a reason you called? Not that I don't want you to just you always video chat when everyone else is round, not on your own" Nina asked.

"Yeah, well, I've got some bad news…Jess' mum died" Danny paled as he announced the news to Nina.

Jess' mum had been diagnosed with cancer about a year ago and had been fighting a losing battle which ended about an hour ago and Jess had texted all her friends letting them know. Danny knew that this would hit Nina particularly hard; since the death of her parents, Jess' mum was like a second mum to Nina, she virtually spent her time split between her Nan's and Jess'.

"I'm sorry Nina, I know how close you were after your parents and everything, I'd give you a hug if I could"

"I'll hug her for you!" Amber intervened and captured Nina in a bone crushing hug while Nina held back tears for about the third time that day.

Everyone from Anubis crowded round for a big group hug which made Nina smile a little but she was literally stunned to silence; why did every adult she got close to _die_? How could they all leave her like that? How could they all be_…gone?_

"I'm really sorry but I've got to go, we all said we'd go round to Jess' and see how she's doing. Talk to you soon Nina, bye everyone" and with that, the laptop screen went blank and everyone glanced around the room, no one quite sure what to say.

"Nina…are you okay?" Amber asked worriedly at her best friend.

"Yeah, I think I'm just gonna go up to my room for a bit"

Nina made her way up the stairs, hearing nothing but silence in her wake. Once she got into her room, she just completely broke down. Tears raced down her face, stinging her eyes as she just started being angry. Furiously launching the chair that was in her way across the room, she yelled in frustration. Sobbing so hysterically, she stepped onto her bed and started ripping down the posters she'd hung up on her wall. She was angry.

How dare her parents leave her when she was just a little girl! She had little to no memories of them, and only half of the ones she did have were happy.

_Rip._

How dare the only people who could understand her agony be continents away! Only her American friends could understand the hole ripped through her right now, and they weren't even here to grieve alongside her.

_Rip._

How dare Fabian break her already so fragile heart! Hadn't she suffered enough in only the short period of time she'd lived?

_Rip._

How dare Joy come and take away her very first love! _He loved Nina_, until Joy came and dug her little claws into their relationship.

_Rip._

And _how dare _God take away one of the few people who she could call family! She treated Nina like she was her own and as a repayment, she had to suffer for years from cancer to just die?

"Hey Nina, I just wan- woah" Eddie entered the room as Nina flung her bedside table across the room whilst she screamed in frustration.

Eddie immediately ran over to Nina's side, wrapping his arms around her while she struggled to get out of his grip, first pounding her fists against his chest screaming 'let me go' before fully breaking down and sliding to the floor in Eddie's arms sobbing uncontrollably.

_Why me_, Nina thought.

They stayed like this for what must have been an hour, Nina sobbing deeply into Eddie's chest while he sat on the floor keeping his arms wrapped around her, whispering occasional words into her ear and gently rocking them back and forth.

"Why does he have to take everyone I care about? Was the death of my parents _not enough_? Who's next, Amber? Patricia? _You?_" she whispered once she'd finished crying. She'd simply run out of tears; there were too many things to cry about.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere, always remember that" he closed his eyes and just breathed in, her hair smelt of strawberries.

"Nina, are you okay?" Amber entered the room obviously worried about how Nina was taking the news. But upon entering and seeing her wrapped up in Eddie's arms on the floor, her face changed from one of worry to one of surprise.

Letting herself out of Eddie's grasp, she stood up and tried to give a smile to Amber.

"No, but I will be. I think I'm just gonna go freshen up" And as soon as Nina left the room, Amber closed the door and narrowed her eyes at Eddie.

"How long have you liked Nina?"

"Wait, wh-what? I don't, we're just good friends"

"Nooo, Alfie and Nina are good friends, _you _and Nina are a lot more than what she and Alfie are" Amber explained, and when it seemed like she wasn't going to say anything else, Eddie spoke up.

"Listen, I care about Nina, a lot, but we're nothing more than friends. And besides, she's still hung up on Fabian, they only broke up a few days ago. She's still not over him"

"Like you're not over Patricia?" she questioned raising her eyebrows.

"R-Right" he stuttered, even _he_ didn't believe him. Was he really over Patricia that quickly? Well he guessed that they were always arguing, they weren't ever like a normal couple. And he guessed he never really was that cut up about their break up, at least not how cut up Nina was about her and Fabian.

"Look Eddie, I _know _you like Nina, even if you don't. I've predicted every single couple in this house before it happened, with the exception of me and Alfie, and I'm not going to start being wrong now. All I'm saying is, don't break her heart. She seems so strong and so happy about everything, but that's only to hide the pain from everything she's been through. And I know that this whole thing with Fabian has hurt her much more than even she knows. When she first got here, she had no friends. She'd left her old life back in America and the first real friend she'd made was Fabian. He gave her something else to think about, she didn't have to worry about any problems she'd left behind because he built a wall between then and now. And she fell in love. So now that Fabian's gone, she feels like that wall is being torn down brick by brick and after this afternoon, she's even more fragile than she was before. So don't hurt her, I'm warning you now" and with that, she went downstairs leaving a bewildered Eddie in Nina's bedroom.

Had _Amber Millington _just said all that to him? The simple minded, sweet yet slow pretty blonde who had to have live TV explained to her? Okay, the world really had gone mad.


	5. Chapter 5

"Eddie, come oooooooon!" Nina was currently dragging Eddie towards the table in the Frobisher library where they were trying to research the Osirion and his connection to the Chosen One. Trying, being the operative word. After nearly three hours of searching through books and books on a Saturday, they so far had nothing. But Nina had just found a particularly interesting looking book and dragged Eddie over, hoping they'd caught a break.

"But I don't wanna" Eddie pouted down at her, while she grinned at him playfully.

"Aw, you're cute when you're grouchy" she pulled a face at him.

"Wait…just when I'm grouchy? I am offended! I thought we were friends Martin, maybe I was wrong…" he faked a sigh, turning to leave.

"Oh, you know I think you're cute. Now come _on_, I think I've found something!" she squealed slightly resembling Amber which made Eddie chuckle.

After flipping through the first few chapters of the book, they came across a section that looked promising.

"Here's something!" Eddie exclaimed, before continuing to read out what he saw in front of him.

"_The Osirion's duty is to protect his paragon from any earthly cares. He is her protector, her guidance and her soul mate. These two's lover's attraction is an instant bond that cannot be broken; they are each other's destiny" _Eddie read aloud, before turning to face Nina, not realising how close their faces now were.

Eddie, hesitating slowly, started to lean in towards Nina but before he could get any closer, she turned away staring awkwardly at the door.

"So, um…how are you and Patricia doing?" Nina asked, quickly trying to change the subject. She _couldn't,_ she just couldn't do that. Not to Eddie, not to herself, and not to Patricia. He didn't really want to kiss her, she expected, the book just caught him off guard and made him feel like he had to. She didn't want to make him feel guilty if they kissed and he realised it was a mistake afterwards. If she'd have let him kiss her, she'd just end up hurt again and she couldn't take any more pain. And Patricia, well it was quite obvious she still liked him, Nina had no idea why she broke up with him. Wherever he moved, whatever he said, her eyes followed him and she most definitely wasn't over him.

"Erm, we're…we're still broken up. I guess we're friends" He replied, confused as to why she'd suddenly bring up Patricia.

"Cool, well, erm, I've got a…I've got to go, I've g-got a th-thing" And with that, she raced out of the library and before Eddie could follow her, she was already running back to the house.

Was Amber right, did Eddie like Nina? It was him who leaned in to kiss her, they'd been spending even more time together now since Fabian and Patricia broke up with them and she really was amazing. But did he like her in that way? Was she his destiny?

* * *

"Eddie, Nina, you two are on dishes tonight" Trudy announced after everyone had eaten and were sitting at the table. As the others dispersed to their rooms, Eddie and Nina made their way to the kitchen to wash their dishes.

"You wash, I dry?" Eddie asked.

"Why do I always have to wash?" Nina grumbled while beginning to fill the sink with water and bubbles.

"Always? How many times have you washed since we've come back this term" Eddie questioned, amused.

"Well, none"

"You're an idiot" Eddie replied as he turned from getting the tea towel back towards Nina where she proceeded to paint bubbles on his chin, making it look like he had a beard.

"Who's the idiot now" she mused as Eddie turned to the sink and splashed her with water.

"Still you" he laughed, blowing bubbles out of his hands into her face.

Then started their bubble war. Nina tipped a cup full of water over his head exclaiming 'whoopsies' while he whipped her with a tea towel. This went on for a good ten minutes, at one point, Nina tried to escape from the room as Eddie picked up a pitcher filled with water but he simply wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up spinning her around. She was laughing hysterically until Eddie slipped on the now wet floor and they both toppled over, Nina crashing on top of Eddie on the floor.

Once again feeling the irresistible desire to lean in and capture her lips with his own, he made a move to close the space between them. But just as he did this, Nina coughed awkwardly and got up off of the floor, once again refusing to look him in the eye and instead deciding to stare towards the door.

"Patricia will be wondering where I am…I said I'd study with her"

"Why do you always do that?" Eddie muttered, getting himself up off of the floor.

"Do what?" Nina asked, trying to act clueless but failing miserably.

"You always bring up Patricia when we're having a moment!" he exclaimed perplexed, what was so wrong with what they were doing?

"Because!" she simply stated, hoping that he'd just drop it and not make her say it. But she knew he wouldn't; she knew him too well.

"Because what, Nina?" he asked, slightly angry now.

"Because! It's the only way to stop me" she whispered, scared of what would come next.

"Stop you from what?!" he demanded, taking a step closer to her so that she had to face him.

"Because it's the only way to stop me from _kissing you_!" she shouted, hoping above anything that no one else in the house would be able to hear their argument.

"Why do you have to stop? What's so wrong with what we're doing? I like you…"

"Eddie, don't…" she tried only half-heartedly as he reached to grab her hands in his.

"And why not?" he whispered, advancing closer and closer to her.

It took all her restraint to not just follow his lead and lean in and kiss him, but she knew she _couldn't_.

"Because…Patricia" she sighed, taking her hands from his grasp and turning once again towards the door, away from Eddie's hurt and confused eyes.

"_She _dumped _me_, remember?"

"It doesn't make any difference Eddie, she still likes you. And she's one of my best friends, I can't just kiss someone she still likes, she'd be heartbroken" Nina closed her eyes, thinking about how she felt when she saw Joy and Fabian kissing in his room the other day. She'd gone in looking for Eddie, and it felt like they'd just stamped all over the already shattered pieces of her heart. Immediately after, Joy came rushing out exclaiming how sorry she was and if she wasn't alright with it, then she'd end it then and there. Nina said that it was okay; after all, they were broken up but that didn't make her feel any better. If anything, it made it worse, like she'd given them permission to make her feel like that. No, she couldn't do that to Patricia.

"And what about us" he whispered, causing her to turn around and face him. His face said it all: disappointment, hurt, longing and even a little anger.

"…there can't be an us, Eddie" Nina replied shaking her head as she made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom.


	6. Chapter 6

"Knock, knock!" a voice came from outside the door, as all of the Anubis residents were sat around the dining table finishing their meal. It had been about a week since the argument between Eddie and Nina and so far, she'd done a pretty good job of avoiding him.

"No, it can't be…" Nina scrunched her eyebrows, recognising the voice.

"What is it Nins?" Amber asked.

"I'll get it!" Trudy announced, walking over to open the door. A moment later a tanned boy with short brown hair entered the room.

"Danny!" Nina exclaimed, pushing back her chair and running towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her off the ground and spun them around as he chuckled gently, smiling down at her. Eddie glared at the two from his seat, which made Amber grin giddily. _Plan Neddie a go, _she thought.

"Miss us?" another boy with black, spiky hair questioned as he strolled into the room.

"Zack!" Nina grinned as she ran over to him and hugged him.

Then two other girls walked into the room carrying suitcases.

"No, it's okay guys. We got the luggage" one of the girls with long, dark brown hair commented dryly as she heaved the bags she was holding into the room.

"Danielle!" Nina squealed, the happiest she'd felt in a while. Ever since the thing with her and Eddie, she'd just felt really down. And seeing her old best friends from America here, she was thrilled.

"Jess!" Nina ran over and jumped on the two girls, grabbing them both in a bone crushing hug.

"Hey guys" Fabian thought that he'd test the water, see if Nina's friends were mad at him for breaking up with Nina or not. But he had met them before, so he thought it was only polite to at least say 'hello'.

"Hey Fabian" Danielle murmured to him, while the others just glared at him.

"Okaaaay, that's a bit awkward" Amber widened her eyes before floating her way over to the Americans. "Anyways, so I'm Amber, Nina's BBF" she finished.

"…BBF?" Danny asked puzzled.

"Her best British friend, of course!" Amber grinned.

"Ohh, so _you're _the famous Amber Millington. I've heard a lot about you, all good of course" Danny replied, smiling cheekily.

"Danny, stop hitting on my best friend! Besides, she has a boyfriend" Nina nudged him, nodding towards where Alfie now stood next to Amber.

"Sorry man, didn't know" Danny's sincerity caught Alfie off guard.

"It's cool…you're not an alien, are you?" he replied, narrowing his eyes at Danny

"No, why, are you?" Danny gave Alfie a suspicious look, playing along with Alfie's game.

"I like him" Alfie turned to Nina, giving her the thumbs up.

The whole house laughed, all except Eddie who was sizing up Danny. He could take him down, if he had to, he thought.

"So what are you guys doing here?" Nina was practically bouncing off the walls.

After a few moments of awkward silence, and sheepish glances between the American visitors, Jess finally spoke up.

"We're here because they thought it'd be a good idea to get away from town for a while, to take my mind off of my Mum. So, since its half term and all, we thought we'd come visit you. These guys like to pretend that they'd been planning to come here for ages, like I don't know that they're just trying to distract me. But I'm _fine _guys, I'm not about to have a mental break down" she shook her hood at her friends, her light brown hair scraped back in a ponytail bouncing slightly. Sure, she was devastated and she _hated _the fact that all these people she'd never met had been turning up at her house telling her how close they were to her mother and how they'd miss her so much. But they didn't _know _her like Jess did, she was her _Mum_. But she wasn't going to sob hysterically for months on end. She'd done her grieving with her Dad and the rest of her family, now it was time to move on. This trip to England was something to take her mind off of it; she just wished her friends would stop tip toeing around her and admit that she was the reason why they came.

Immediately Amber attacked her in a hug, "I can tell we're going to be great friends" she whispered/squealed once again, causing everyone to giggle at her Amber-ness.

"But where are you going to sleep?" Jerome asked, as he wrapped his arms around Mara. He just wanted to make sure they got the message, she was _his_.

By this point, everyone was now stood up in the living room.

"Well, we phoned ahead, and is it Trudy? Well she said that we boys could stay in the attic and the girls could squeeze in with Nina and Amber. It's only for a week, so it shouldn't cause too much hassle" Zach explained, before scanning the room. He'd hoped that he'd be able to find some cute girls to flirt with but he could already see the couples making themselves known.

"Awesome! Anyway, let me introduce you all. Anubis guys, this is Danny, Zach, Jess and Danielle. American guys, this is Amber, Alfie, Jerome, Mara, Fabian who you've already met, Joy, Patricia, Mick and…E-Eddie" Nina introduced, staring intently at the floor when she got to Eddie. She just couldn't look him in the eyes anymore.

"So, Amber, who's our Nina's latest love interest?" Jess turned to Amber, raising her eyebrows excitedly.

"Jess!" Nina exclaimed perplexed.

"Well since her and Fabian broke up, which I was _very _annoyed at btw. My Fabina scrapbook was such a waste! Anyways, him and Joy are now virtually dating, Jerome's with Mara and they are like the cutest couple you've ever seen! Alfie's with me, obviously, so that just leaves Mick and Eddie as respective candidates and I'm a _total _Neddie shipper!" Amber smiled gleefully, waiting to see the reactions on everyone's faces. Mick simply scowled at the mention of Jerome and Mara while Eddie's heart beat sped up ever so slightly at the mention of him and Nina.

_"What?!"_ Nina, Eddie and Patricia all yelled.

"Neddie? So I assume you're talking about Eddie and Nina? Oh my god, they would look _totally _cute together! But there's also Zack and Danny here" Jess reasoned.

"OMG, you're right! So what's the story with them?" Amber questioned.

"Amber!" Nina's face was awry with shock and embarrassment.

"Well Nina and Zack dated a few summers back, but now they're just platonic and are more like brother and sister. Whereas Danny has had an _obvious _crush on Nina since the third grade, and they even dated for a while in the seventh grade, but he still has a crush on her now even though it's not always so obvious to Nina" Jess carried on her discussion with Amber, even though both knew the whole room was listening to them, but they simply ignored their outbursts and carried on anyway.

"I do not!" Danny shouted whilst blushing furiously. Even if he did have a crush on Nina, he didn't want it to be broadcasted to his friends and these strangers he'd only just met. He was going to _kill _Jess.

"OHEMGEE, so we have to choose between Neddie and Dina?" Amber pretended to consider it for a moment, she was only saying all this so that it could spark the jealousy in Eddie she was sure would explode if they carried on like this for a week. She _totally _didn't see why Eddie and Nina weren't together already.

"Moving on, do you guys wanna go unpack?" Mara attempted to change the subject, sensing the awkwardness now present in the room. Nina sent her an appreciative smile; they'd grown closer since the end of the mystery and Nina had a lot more time for normal friendships, not just the ones created from fear of death.

"Sure! Come one Zack, let's go to the attic" Danny pulled Zack up the stairs, very glad of the change in topic. Was it really that obvious that he had a crush on Nina?


	7. Chapter 7

Eddie wandered up the stairs towards where the Americans would now be lodging with Nina and Amber in hope that he could have a word with Nina before bed. Once he reached their door and was about to turn the door handle, he hesitated hearing giggling from inside the room and his curiosity got the better of him. So instead of walking in, he hovered outside and listened to find out what the girls were talking about.

"Oh come on Nina, you must have told him you loved him _once_!" Amber exclaimed from what he could hear from the other side of the door.

"No, never" she sighed.

"But you _must_ have told Danny? Come on Nins, you adore him!" someone replied with a heavy American accent and he _thought _that it was Jess but couldn't be sure.

"Well of course! But that's Danny, and he's just so cute!" she giddily squealed, making Eddie's heart plummet two floors below.

She…she told Danny she loved him? Did they both have crushes on each other? Was the reason she'd turned Eddie down really because she liked someone else, and not because of Patricia at all? Eddie's faintest ghost of a hope that Nina would come around was gradually becoming slimmer and slimmer. He now knew what Nina felt when Fabian had dumped her, and what he _should _have felt when Patricia dumped him. He wasn't even going out with Nina and it made him want to scream at everybody, which made him feel even worse. Abandoning his earlier thought about talking to Nina, he retreated back down the did this bother him so much? Did he really have that strong feelings for Nina? Did he love her, even?

_Yes, _he thought, _unreservedly_ _and unconditionally, yes._

* * *

"Hey, Fabian…?" Eddie finally worked up the courage to ask his roommate a question that had been bugging him for hours. He'd stopped being mad at Fabian, he was his roommate and quite a good friend and Eddie didn't want to spoil that. Besides, he had bigger things to worry about now.

Everyone had headed back to their rooms as the Americans went to unpack with the exception of Mick who went out for a run and after Eddie's little trip to the girls' corridor apart, he was currently laid on his bed chucking a small baseball up and down while Fabian was sat on his bed strumming some random chords on his guitar.

"Yes?" Fabian answered, still not looking up from his guitar, occasionally reaching over to write some random symbols on a sheet of paper. It was all meaningless to Eddie.

"Why did you act like you knew Nina's friends from America earlier?"

"Well, because I kind of do. I went to America over the summer to see Nina and I met her friends" Fabian, now intrigued to why Eddie wanted to know, put down his guitar.

"What…what did you think of them? Her friends, I mean" Eddie asked, trying to stop his jealousy from becoming apparent in his voice.

"They seemed nice enough"

"What about, erm, what about Danny? Did he seem…nice?" Eddie had to clench his jaw while mentioning his name.

"Sure, he seemed nice too"

"Did you ever, erm, think that he might have, a crush on Nina?" Eddie tried to keep his state of equilibrium and keep what he thought was his carefree and easy going attitude in the conversation.

"Oh yeah, definitely" Fabian nodded as if this didn't bother him. But why would it? They were broken up after all.

"Didn't it…didn't it bother you?" Eddie scrunched his eyebrows together, shaking his head as the thought of Danny and Nina went through his head. It made him want to punch a wall, but luckily for his fist, he contained his rage. For now.

"…Does is bother you?" Fabian slowly questioned, raising his eyebrows at his roommate. As smart as he was, he never failed to miss the obvious signs when somebody had a crush. Even when it was on _him_.

"N-No, o-of course not! I just, erm thought, that…didn't it bother you that somebody else had a crush on the girl you liked?" Eddie finally got to the point of his question.

"Well not really, I guess. I knew that we were only there for a few more weeks and after that, he wouldn't be a problem back in England" Fabian answered reasonably, for whatever the reason for this strange conversation was, he was glad his roommate was finally talking to him again. He knew that him and Nina were close (maybe not how close) and it didn't surprise him that he at first blanked him out after seeing how upset Nina was. It wasn't his _fault _that he was no good at breakups; or even no good at relationships!

"So she didn't like ever tell him she loved him or anything?" Eddie recalled the conversation he overheard in Nina's room earlier.

"Are you kidding me? Nina doesn't say 'I love you'" Fabian sighed exasperated, he remembered the first time he'd told her that he loved her and she simply replied with 'that's nice'.

"What do you mean she doesn't say it?"

"She just…doesn't. She refuses to say it to anyone, ever"

"Why?" Eddie wondered, never having heard about this pet peeve of hers before.

"I don't know, she never told me why. She just told me that she doesn't"

Eddie sat and considered this for a long time while simply throwing and catching the baseball, lying on his bed. She seemed like the type of girl to get all fluttery when a boy told her he loved her. Why didn't she ever say it? And why would she tell Amber and all the others that she had told Danny she loved him then? Why was she so hung up on 'love'? Well whatever the reason, he was sure as hell going to find out.


	8. Chapter 8

"Shut up! I wasn't that bad!" Nina laughed, sitting on the sofa next to Danny as they reminisced about some of Nina's most embarrassing moments.

"Nina, you refused to even _look _at the teacher because he reminded you of Professor Quirrell from Harry Potter! I thought you were going to have a heart attack one lesson when he put his hand on your shoulder!" Danny shook his head grinning before performing an imitation of Nina's reaction.

"Stop it! You'll make me pee!" Nina wheezed, bending over and clutching her stomach.

"Hey, I'm only repeating what you did!"

"_Jackass_" Eddie muttered under his breath from where he was listening intently at the door. Okay, so maybe eavesdropping wasn't the _best _solution to his Nina problem but he so desperately wanted to see what her and Danny were up to and this was the first thing he thought of.

"Anyway, Nins, I actually wanted to talk to you about something" Danny told her, in a now much more calm tone.

_Nins, _it made him scowl when he heard him call her that.

"Okay..?" he could hear her suddenly suspicious tone of voice.

From his position outside of the door, Eddie gently opened the door a crack so that he could now see the two on the couch without them noticing his prying eyes. What did he want from her?

"Nina, I think you're really great. You're beautiful, you make me laugh like nobody else, you always want to keep everyone else happy, and you're always there for your friends even if you're an ocean away. And I really like you…"

"Danny…"

"I mean, really _really _like you. I have for a while actually and I think it's about time I told you" he slowly began to close his eyes, and lean in towards Nina, who made no move to pull away. Whether this was a result of shock or simply because she didn't want to, Eddie didn't know. But he sure as hell wasn't going to find out and let that kiss happen.

Eddie burst into the room, eyeing the two sat on the sofa with annoyance, ensuring he made as much noise as possible so that they'd immediately retreat from their pre-kissing position.

"Nina! I need to talk to you" he almost screamed, hoping that she'd just come without putting up a fight. They still weren't strictly talking since the whole debacle where Eddie told her he likes her. But, if he was going to achieve anything out of today, it was that that was going to change. He at least had to be able to _talk _to her again, the separation from her was killing him and it'd only been three days max since they'd stopped.

"Sure, Eddie" she smiled, but he could see the transparency in it and that it was just staged. Like it was appropriate, so she smiled. It wasn't her normal Nina smile, where the whole room lit up when the corners of her mouth twitched into the most beautiful thing Eddie had ever seen. Oh, how he missed her Nina smile.

Leading the two out into the hallway, Eddie paced the corridor whilst scratching the back of his neck.

"What is it, Eddie?"

On hearing his name, Eddie turned back towards her, "You weren't actually going to kiss him, were you?" hope littered his voice like an unwanted neon sign above his head, flashing '_In love with Nina Martin_'.

"Well I don't know, we were interrupted before I could find out. Would it have been a problem if I did?" she breathed out slowly, exasperated by all this un-predicted stress.

"Yes, a thousand times yes! Nina, you can't do this to me…" his eyes pleaded with her, and she could finally see how much this was hurting him and it was killing her.

"I have no choice Eddie-

"Yes you do! There's _always_ a choice Nina, why can't you just do this one thing for yourself? Make yourself happy for once, put yourself first! You need to make a choice Nina, between your head and your heart…" he finished, hoping above anything that she'd choose her heart. You should always, _always _choose your heart. It was bad enough knowing that he couldn't be with her, but seeing her with someone else? Nuh uh, no way, not gonna happen.

"…I already have" she whispered and he could see the edge of a tear glisten as it fell across her cheek. Normally, he would have raced forward to make her smile again and prevent anymore tears from falling, but not this time. Not when the reason for her crying was that she had two guys fighting over her. _Oh, woe is me _he thought angrily. He knew what she meant when she said she'd chosen, she didn't need to spell it out for him. He was being put second again, always second. Just for once, he wanted someone to put him first.

"Well, congrats on being a top friend" he replied mockingly before turning and heading for the door.

"Eddie, come back!" Nina cried at his back as he left the room, why could things never be simple?

"Eddie…" she tried once more meekly before sinking down onto the floor in defeat.

Would things ever get easier?


	9. Chapter 9

"Okay, listen up! Since we never did anything to welcome our American guests staying here, tonight we're going to play some games as an official Anubis welcome!" Joy announced to her friends who were sitting in the living room.

"Really? After how well last time went?" Fabian asked hesitantly, raising his eyebrows at his almost girlfriend. _Almost_.

"Why, what happened last time?" Zack turned from Joy and Fabian, directing his question at Amber, someone who he knew vaguely via Nina. He wasn't a particularly great fan of Joy, hearing about how she'd treated one of his closest friends last year and how she contributed to the break-up of Nina and Fabian. Nor was he keen on Fabian, seeing how he broke her heart.

"Oh nothing, Mick just got verbally attacked, Jara had their first couple's argument and we found out the magic number of how many boyfriends me and Nina have had" Amber replied, blowing the pink nail varnish carefully coated on her nails.

"Sounds…delightful"

"Oh come on, it will be fun! Now everyone, make a circle on the floor!" Joy clapped, ironically, full of joy.

As everyone did as Joy said, a few awkward glances were placed around the circle, before Amber suggested they play spin the bottle first, which received a mix of reactions throughout the group. But at the insistence of Amber, they began starting off with cheeky pecks on the cheek, eventually getting to the proper kisses.

"Joy…and Fabian" the two leaned in after Amber's spinning, empty coke bottle landed on the two.

Looking over to see how Nina was doing, Eddie discreetly glanced across the circle where Nina was sat directly opposite. She looked a little uncomfortable, and who wouldn't at their ex kissing someone else? But other than that, there was no longing in her eyes or anything else to suggest that she wished that she was in Joy's place. Selfish as it may be, that made Eddie a very happy person.

"Nina…and Fabian. Urgh, you know what? We can just spin again" Amber quickly grabbed the bottle back, preventing some _extreme _Fabina awkwardness from happening.

"Okay, so Nina…and Danny" Amber smirked, sensing an opportunity for some jealousy to arise. It was obvious, to Amber at least, that Eddie was absolutely crazy about Nina and Nina _totally _felt the same way. She hoped.

Nina barely leaned forward into the circle, feeling extremely uncomfortable to be kissing someone who she knew had a crush on her when she didn't feel the same way. But that didn't matter as Danny, sensing an opportunity to kiss the girl he'd liked for so long, eagerly lunged across the circle and crushed his lips against hers. This was his best attempt to get her to talk to him properly again; she'd done a rather successful job of avoiding him ever since he admitted that he liked her in more than a friendly way. Taking hold of her face with both of his hands, he had complete control of the kiss, ensuring it lasted way longer than was appropriate for a friendly game of spin the bottle.

Eddie coughed, gaining the attention of the group "okay, okay. Give somebody else a chance" he tried to keep his tone light and airy, but it was obvious he was ready to punch Danny given half a chance. On hearing the interruption, Danny finally (yet rather reluctantly) retreated, leaving Nina stunned. Her face was expressionless, whether out of shock or happiness, it was really too hard to tell.

"Soooo, next is Jerome…and Patricia" Amber giggled at the disgusted faces her two house mates were now pulling. It was amusing to note that Mara didn't have a jealous thought in her head right now, instead she was just laughing at the expression her boyfriend and best friend were wearing.

As they both leant in rather begrudgingly, their quick peck lasted nothing more than two seconds, much to the dismay of Amber.

"Hey! It has to be longer than that, do it again!" she exclaimed testily.

"Nuh-uh"

"No way"

"Fine" Amber grumbled before once again reaching out to spin the bottle, "It's Nina again…and Eddie" she grinned merrily; she couldn't wait for when they finally got together. Maybe this would help them along the way!

Even though had barely passed a word to the other recently, their heart beats pounded that little bit harder at the thought of what they were about to do. They both ever so slowly leaned in towards each other wearing a mask of embarrassment delicately covering their harbouring feelings for each other. To just finally feel what he'd imagined for so long; the soft brush of Nina's lips against his, made him feel giddy.

Meeting in the middle, he tentatively reached his arms out to hold her waist whilst her hands sunk into his hair as the kiss lasted two seconds, three, four, five, and after this point, they'd both stopped counting and couldn't give a damn about how long their kiss lasted.

If this was a movie, fireworks would be shooting overhead and the piano would be creeping in playing some sort of passionate lullaby. If this was a movie, everyone else in the room would be beginning to clap and loudly exclaim how happy they were for the starry-eyed couple. But if this was a movie, they'd be together at the end of this kiss. And they wouldn't feel guilty about it because getting together wouldn't hurt anyone. But this wasn't a movie, and guilt was all Nina felt.

As soon as they made contact, Patricia froze as she could feel her heart being drawn out by a dagger. After a few moments, it all became too much for her and her typical 'Patricia' act of ruthlessness and rebellion was washed away and all that was left was pain. Running from the room, she caught the attention of everyone around her, causing the kiss to finally break.

"Patricia!" Nina called, getting up and following her out of the room, leaving the room full of people to stare after them. A few seconds later, Eddie also headed out to the corridor in search of Nina and Patricia.

"Can somebody please tell me what's just happened here?" Danielle asked, extremely dumbfounded at the situation, for she was unaware about the whole 'Peddie' drama.

"Well basically, Eddie and Nina have a thing for each other, though they both deny it, and their kiss was like _sooo_ romantic because they both basically just told the other that they liked them. But Patricia and Eddie used to date for a while until Patricia dumped him on the same day as Fabian dumped Nina. Though I _totally _don't know why because it's obvious she's still way into him! So anyways, Patricia got jealous seeing Eddie kissing Nina and ran out of the room 'cos she obviously still likes Eddie! And now, nothing's going to happen between Eddie and Nina because Nina's too good of a friend to go out with someone one of her best friends likes and used to date. Which is a total bummer, because I love Neddie!" Amber explained, pouting a little at the end.

"A-Are you sure Nina likes Eddie back though?" Danny asked, grasping onto the little hope he had left of finally landing his crush of about six years.

"Are you kidding me? Did you see that kiss? It's pretty obvious they both do, I wonder how Patricia's doing…" Joy trailed off, feeling sorry for her best friend. She would have gone and followed her to check she was okay, or more appropriately, comfort her as she quite obviously was not. But Nina had already gone after her, and she thought that it was probably better if they talked alone.

"There's only one question then" Amber stated, simply.

"…WWVBD?" Alfie asked his girlfriend, knowing how often she chose to say this phrase.

"WW…what?" Jess asked, completely dumbfounded.

"What would Victoria Beckham do" Mara explained.

"Must be a British thing" Jess whispered to Zack as he shrugged in response.

"No, the question is, how's love guru Amber Millington going to wave her magic romance wand and fix this?" she explained as if she was the only intelligent person in the room.

* * *

"Patricia, Patricia wait!" Nina followed Patricia up the stairs, not realising that Eddie was following a few feet behind her. This small fact working very much to his advantage as he positioned himself discreetly behind Patricia's bedroom door whilst her and Nina resided inside of the room.

"…I still like him Nina" she admitted meekly, head bowed down.

"I-I know" Nina replied, perching herself down on the edge of the bed where Patricia was sat refusing to look at her.

"But he likes _you_" her voice cracked on the last word of her sentence, giving Eddie a real sense of sympathy towards his ex .

"A-And…" Patricia croaked as Nina prepared for the guilt trip Patricia was about to put her through for liking Eddie, "it was only a game of spin the bottle, it's not like you actually _wanted _to kiss him, and I'm so upset. How dumb is that?"

_Okay, this is worse than a guilt trip _Nina thought.

"It…it was just a game, Patricia" Nina added, not quite sure of what else she should say.

"I know, and I'm being so stupid. But I know that he likes you from the way he's been acting around you ever since we broke up, maybe even a bit before if I'm honest. And I know that you don't like him, because you're too good of a friend to do that to me, you know how much it would hurt for me to see you together and how betrayed I would feel" she sighed.

"…Ahuh"

It was official; Nina was the worst person alive.

Not only was she crushing on one of her closest friend's ex's but she was lying to her about it on top of that, all the while listening to her go on and on about how good of a friend she was for not liking him. And how it would crush her heart if she did. Yep, she definitely couldn't feel much worse right now.

"She's lying" somebody whispered from behind Eddie's shoulder, causing him to jump out of his skin before turning around and scolding whoever it was.

"Amber!" Eddie hissed, "you scared me to death!" he shook his head, straining to hear what was happening at the other side of the door.

"She's lying though. Patricia knows that Nina likes you, anyone could tell that, but she doesn't want you and Nina to be together. So she's lying to her to make her feel guilty and horrible and to stop her from going out with you" she explained calmly shaking her head. She honestly thought that Patricia would be better than this, obviously she was wrong.


	10. Chapter 10

"I swear! He _totally _needs to get his cheerleader pom poms back like he did for Mara if wants to up his game"

"Nope, I still can't see it. _Mick_, trying to be a _cheerleader_?" Joy giggled at the image.

"_Amber _convinced him that it would help win me over" Mara mused, catching Joy up on last year's antics.

"And did it not work for you two? So why shouldn't he do it for Kelly! EEEEP! I can start a 'kick' scrapbook…or does 'melly' sound better?" Amber squealed.

Nina stood carelessly leaned against the back of the dining table, surrounded by Amber, Patricia, Mara and Joy. They weren't exactly the best of friends Nina and Joy, but they were talking and that was as good a start as any. Their American guests were currently out sightseeing in England; they were on vacation after all and this was their first time in England. Meanwhile, the girls of Anubis were just talking about Amber's latest love guru scheme, and Nina was too busy giggling to notice the door to the house open and Eddie walk in. If she had taken the time to notice, then she wouldn't have been as taken aback when he strode into the room, took hold of her wrist and brought his lips down to hers in a crash of built up passion and emotion he'd been keeping back from longer than he even thought.

Back before these last few weeks when they'd become each other's confidant. Back before they became good friends. Back before Patricia, even.

Way back to the first moment that he took in her being, when his mind couldn't process everything that was there because of the knowledge he lacked.

But now he knew; he was the osirion, and she was his chosen one. And he loved her.

At first, all Nina could register was shock as her eyes stayed wide open and alert, not focusing on the feel of Eddie's lips on hers, because if she did that, there was no going back. But the four pairs of eyes she could feel burning holes into her head, and the glare she just knew Patricia held on her face. Because though she still refused to admit it, Patricia's feelings for Eddie never went away.

As Eddie pulled away from her, re opening his eyes, his hands remained cupping her cheeks as his eyes pleadingly stared into Nina's.

"Tell me that you didn't just feel something when we kissed"

"Eddie, what are you doing…" Nina worriedly kept glancing to her left at her friends who were now staring at the two; one pair of concerned eyes, one pair of surprised ones, one pair of gleeful eyes and another that were burning straight through her.

"_Tell me_ that you didn't just feel something when we kissed" he reached for her hands and held them tightly in his, squeezing them reassuringly as if this would make this all okay.

"I-I…I c-can't…No. I-I didn't" she gulped closing her eyes wishing this whole mess away, before once again looking to her friends to see their reactions.

Eddie, sensing this, looked at their friends now with anger before returning to Nina "stop LYING TO ME!"

At the sudden outburst, the remaining house members trailed out into the hallway to see what exactly was going on.

"Eddie, please, _stop_" she tried weakly, but to no avail.

"You know you did! You're only saying that because you don't want to hurt your friends, because that's the type of person you are! You're sweet, and kind, and selfless, and you never, ever, ever make any of your friends second best. But _god forbid _you ever put your own needs before your friends! But if they were your REAL friends Nina, they'd want you to be happy with the guy who's _falling in love with you_…"

At this, it was safe to say that an evident gasp escaped from every single Anubis house member's mouth, except one. From one, came a deep growl.

"You're-you're falling in love with me?" Nina whispered staring at her feet.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be? You're beautiful. Along with about five billion other qualities that I could mention, just maybe not in front of our whole house" Eddie lifted her chin with one hand, leaving one hand interlocked with hers.

Nina blushed and smiled a little at what Eddie said, and as she looked back up into his eyes, she could see Fabian in the hallway looking onto the scene in front of him, and saw a slight frown upon his lips. _Ha, good_ she thought for as much as she liked Eddie, she was still deeply hurt that her very first love had simply abandoned her in the way that he did.

But as Nina glanced once again to her left to see the no longer angry but just simply hurt eyes of one of her closest friends, she knew that she couldn't do this to Patricia. No matter how much it broke her heart.

With a hurt expression on her face and an expression already filled with regret, she looked back to Eddie, "I can't, I jus- _I'm sorry_" she pulled her hands back before running out of the house with tears already blurring her vision.

After the whole house had just witnessed Eddie's failed attempt at finally winning over Nina, they were stunned to silence as Amber fled from the house running after her best friend. Until Patricia interrupted it.

"Nice going, Edison. Proclaiming your love to a girl who's still in love with your roommate? Well done" Patricia sneered but anyone that knew Patricia, knew that this was just a reflex to hide her hurt and pain at her ex-boyfriend's words.

"Oh, shut up, Patricia" Eddie rubbed his temples as he closed his eyes trying to register what just happened.

"Seriously dude, what _was _that? Were you taken over by an alien or something" Alfie walked into the dining room to join the girls, closely followed by the rest of the guys waiting out in the hall.

"No Alfie, I wasn't 'taken over by aliens'" He groaned in frustration before turning around to face all of his friends. "I'm in love with Nina, okay? I AM IN LOVE WITH NINA MARTIN! Not like it matters, because apparently your happiness is soooo much more important than hers" Eddie scoffed at Patricia.

"Did you ever think, Mr Big shot, that she just _doesn't have feelings for you_?" Patricia narrowed her eyes at Eddie, hoping that they were just slipping into one of their old little heated arguments that were only to hide their true feelings for each other. But somehow, this time, she didn't have much hope.

"Don't you think, Patricia, that if she really didn't have feelings for me, then she would have just slapped me right after I kissed her? And wouldn't have been constantly looking over at you to see if you were mad at her? And she wouldn't have ran out _crying_! And no, that wasn't because she was embarrassed, it was because she's such a good friend that she'd never want to see you hurt! And if YOU were as good a friend as her, Patricia, you'd run after her and tell her that you want her to be happy with somebody that cares for her so much. Even if that somebody's me" Eddie quickly walked out of the room and slammed his bedroom door, where he resided for the rest of the evening.

"Awk-ward…" Jerome commented raising his eyebrows, resulting in him getting a slap on the arm from Mara. But then she took hold of his hand and dragged him along to his room.

At least there was one happy couple in the House of Anubis.


	11. Chapter 11

"Nina…" concern crumpled Amber's usually cheerful features and for once, she wasn't taking note of how a deep frown laced her face, or how it could result in wrinkles. Instead, she was more worried about her BAF who sat sobbing on the bench outside Anubis, ironically the same bench Eddie had sat comforting her not that long ago. _How stupid_, Nina thought. That then she was distraught about her and Fabian's break up but now she was something that wasn't even words. The hurt she felt from being forced by her heavy heart to lie not only to Eddie, but in front of her whole house just made her want to not exist anymore. She wished that Victor and the teacher's would have taken her away as the Chosen One in her first year, she wished that Rufus had let loose those deadly insects on her, she wished that Senkhara had used her body and taken her to the afterlife and she wished that any one of the life threating hurdles she overcame last year had snatched her away from this weary existence. Because then she wouldn't be feeling like this, she wouldn't be feeling anything.

"Why are relationships so difficult?" Nina choked out as tears splashed down her flushed cheeks. Amber joined Nina on the bench and let her rest her head on her shoulder, taking great measure to decide what was the right thing to say.

"Because people are difficult" she replied, sighing at the simplicity of her words but how accurate they were. "You deserve to be happy too, you know Nina".

"But why should I be happy if it makes somebody else sad?" Nina cried, appreciating the fact that Amber was trying to help her be happy, but knew that it was no use. There was nothing that anyone could say to make this situation right.

"Because Patricia had her chance to be happy with Eddie, and she ended it because it wasn't working. She can't then decide now, after you've already started to develop serious feelings for him, that she still likes him and wants to be with him. That's not fair to anyone; not to herself, not to Eddie, and certainly not to you"

"But if I do this, she'd hate me for it. I don't want to lose her as a friend" Nina's weak voice tugged on every one of Amber's heart strings. She was always one for a sappy love story, but what was a sappy love story without a happy ending? She was determined to help Nina, and ensure Neddie happened whether she had Patricia's blessing or not. It may have sounded mean, but it was her best friend's happiness that she was talking about. She _knew _that Patricia didn't 'love' Eddie, she just missed being in a relationship with someone, no matter how dysfunctional that relationship was.

"Eddie loves _you_, he said it himself" Amber vaguely noticed how Nina cringed at her words, reminding her about how she 'didn't do love'. She was perfectly happy referring to it, she'd call Fabian her first love, but never did she ever actually say to someone 'I love you'. She was surprised she didn't have anything to say when Eddie said it earlier, but she presumed that she was just very caught off guard. Or maybe she was finally easing away from her fear of the word, in which case, there was even more reason for Amber to help Nina and Eddie finally get together.

"…What do I do Amber?" Nina wept, bitterly swiping at her tears, silently cursing herself for being so pathetic. She _hated _crying, but it seemed like that was all she was doing these days.

"Leave it with me Nina, I'm gonna help you" she smiled reassuringly down at Nina, hopeful that this would give her a slight amount of faith in her and that she was going to do. She was going to make this better, she had to.

* * *

"Patricia, can I talk to you for a minute?" Amber decided that if nobody else was going to step up to the plate and have a word with Patricia and how she was getting in the way of true love, then she would have to. Besides, it was only appropriate, she was the match maker of the house, ready to give any couple a little nudge in the right direction. And Patricia was a big problem in the Neddie love equation, and one that Amber would quickly have to sort before Nina got any more hurt.

"Erm, sure?" Patricia looked suspicious, wary of what this would be about.

As Amber led the two up the stairs towards her room, Patricia quickly thought about everything this could be concerning. It wasn't anyone's birthday for months so she couldn't be planning any sort of surprise party. Anyway, she would have dragged everyone else up to the room to talk about it, not just Patricia. Was it to study? No, Patricia wasn't the person you approached when you wanted some tutoring and Amber wasn't the person who approached you _about_ tutoring. What was it about? It couldn't be about her and Eddie anymore, not since they broke up and he only has eyes for Nina. Wait, this couldn't be about that, could it…

"It's about Nina" Amber specified as she pressed her back against the door, eyeing Patricia with a look of betrayal. She hadn't betrayed Amber though, only Nina. Wow, had she really betrayed one of her best friends?

"What about her?" Patricia struggled to keep her tone light and questioning, trying but failing.

"Why would you lie to her like that?" Amber sighed, as if she was truly disappointed in her. And in all honesty, Patricia was shamefaced at her own behaviour. So Amber had stumbled upon her lies; she probably never believed her in the first place. It's not like it was hard to see straight through her, it felt as if there was a window in her mind, showing everyone on the outside how she was thinking and feeling.

"W-What do you mean, I haven't lied to Nina" Patricia stuttered, yet again giving away the truth behind her lies.

"And there you go again, lying. I _know _that you know Nina likes Eddie, you'd be stupid not to. And you, Patricia, are not stupid" Amber shook her head in a disapproving manner, but she didn't _understand_. She had her perfect little life, with a boyfriend who worshipped the ground she walked on, a rich Daddy to cater for her every whim, best friends around her who simply adored the perky blonde. And if Sibuna had taught her one thing, it was that she wasn't half as thick as what people made out.

"I can't do what you want me to, I can't tell her that it's okay when it makes me feel like this" Patricia muttered bitterly, hating the blubbering mess her first love had made her into. This wasn't Patricia, this wasn't what she did. But somehow, she'd changed. _For him_ she thought spitefully.

"But you dumped him Patricia! It's over between you two! Do you really want to get back together, go back to the ridiculous fighting you used to do? Because that's not love Patricia, you just don't have anything else to compare it to and Eddie was the first boy you properly dated. Do you want to go back out with him?" she cried, exasperated.

"No, no I don't!" she admitted submissively.

"Then why is it so hard for you to let them be together?!" Amber's anger flared, at Patricia's incessant stupidity.

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"This is the Patricia I know, the one who shouts and stands up for what she believes in. Who doesn't mope around and cry because their ex has moved on. Who no one dares disagree with because they'll get a jug of water poured on them if they do" Amber laughed, recalling the many times over the years where she'd done this. Patricia also smiled at the memory, and not a loved up dopey smile but her smile that stank of rebellion. Over the past few weeks, she'd become a shadow of her once confident, and she wasn't even ashamed to admit, arrogant self. And she was so _sick _of feeling the walls of her life crumbing around her. So she decided that it wasn't going to anymore, she wasn't going to let it.

"You're never going to move on until Eddie does. And Eddie can't until you give Nina your blessing, you know she's too nice to do it behind your back" and Patricia knew this, which is what made the decision that much harder. But once she'd been re-introduced to her old self, her defence mechanism kicked in so instead of digesting a hard truth, she decided to fight it.

"And why should I? You were angry at Mara for ages when she went out with Mick after you two had just split up!" yes, her old self was definitely back.

"That's different Patricia and you know it!" Amber shrieked, stunned that her friend would bring that up. "It was _Mick _who dumped _me_, not the other way around! And Mara just went out with him without a second's thought to how I'd feel about it! And I love Mara, she's one of my best friends but what she did was terrible. But what you're doing to Nina is far worse. Can you not see how _miserable _this is making her? She's being such a good friend to you, scared to death that if she doesn't she'll lose you as a friend. She's lost her parents, she moved to a foreign place and fell in love with a kind, sweet boy. She's discovered that she's an Egyptian descendant, been on the brink of death almost every day for the past year and the once person that got her through all that dumped her for the girl who's had it out for her since they first met. Then she finds another guy who she really likes and who really likes her back and offers her the real bit of happiness she's had in weeks, and she's giving all that up for _you. _Do you not realise how much this is hurting her? How much _you're _hurting her?" she finished, now insanely angry that she could be so selfish.

Amber had had enough of their pointless arguing, coming to the conclusion that if nothing that she had said had gotten through to Patricia already, there wasn't anything that would. So she began making her way towards the door planning on preparing for her date with Alfie in just under five hours. But first, she found it suitable to say one last thing to Patricia, something that she hoped would coax her into doing the right thing.

"She loves him Patricia, and one way or another, she's gonna end up resenting you for what you're doing to her. All I want is for Nina to be happy, and it seems like being with Eddie is what's gonna make that happen. I'm not gonna stop until she's happy, Patricia" she sighed, leaving Patricia to contemplate just what the hell she was going to do.


	12. Chapter 12

"Okay, what the hell is going on between you two?" Danny asked, exasperated at their behaviour. Danny had been sat on the chair in Anubis house, mindlessly tap tap tapping away on his laptop, whilst Eddie sat on the sofa watching TV. Nina had come downstairs a few hours previous, and after an awkward glance or two, sat down on a chair in the dining room and began texting on her phone. Now Danny had been watching them both sneak quick glances at each other for the past hour, and frankly, it was getting the hell on his nerves.

"None of your business" Eddie muttered, scowling at the TV which only made Danny more eager to pursue the matter more.

"But you see, it _is_ my business because Nina is one of my best friends and I want her to be happy. Now I'm not entirely sure what's going on between you two but this" he gestured between them, "is not working very well. You like her? Swell. She likes you? Even better! So just sort this out" he sighed, shaking his head at the two of them. Sure, he still really, really, _really _liked Nina but it became very apparent very quickly that she no longer felt the same way about him. But whatever, life goes on, there's plenty of fish in the sea, and he still wanted her to be happy. Even if it was with this knuckle head who couldn't sort it out between themselves.

The silence that hung uncomfortably in the air told Danny that neither Eddie nor Nina were willing to comment on the matter. She liked _him_? Really?

_God knows why._

Eddie and Nina both looked up simultaneously.

"…Did I say that out loud?" Danny's mouth formed a distinguishable 'o', surprised that he'd actually muttered that for people to hear, rather than in the safe place in his head where his thoughts could stay hidden away.

"What do you mean, 'god knows why'?" Eddie's eyes narrowed suspiciously across the room at Danny who sat awkwardly in his chair.

"Nothing, _mate_" Danny rolled his eyes mockingly at him, before scoffing. He knew he was being rude but he couldn't understand why him, of all people, would be who Nina decided to have a crush on.

"Oh, it was _something, mate_" Eddie clenched his jaw, standing to face this idiot.

"All I said was God knows why Nina would ever like _you_" Danny arrogantly looked Eddie up and down, as if proving his point as he also got to his feet to stand in front of Eddie.

Alfie, chose this moment to walk in and on hearing the insult Danny just hurled at Eddie, immediately started reversing out of the room. Literally, reversing.

"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, DANGER ZONE! DANGER ZONE! DO NOT ENTER THE LIVING ROOM!" Alfie waved his arms around manically, yelling to warn the house about the latest brawl taking place in the living room.

"Alfie, _watch it_!" Jerome huffed after having a hysterical Alfie crash into him in the hallway.

Alfie continued to blare his alarm throughout the halls as Jerome and Mara strolled into the living room, swinging their arms back and forth playfully. But upon entering and tasting the tension spoiling in the air, walked to the back of the room where Nina stared intensely at the two boys.

"Danny…" Nina shook her head frantically, chewing her lip sensing a fight brewing.

"As opposed to you, Mr I'm so perfect. I suppose you think that _you're_ better suited to Nina" Eddie snorted, he couldn't _believe_ this jerk.

"Actually, yeah, I do" he advanced a step closer to Eddie, challenging him to argue with it.

"Guys, stop, please!" Nina exclaimed, moving further into the living room while Jerome and Mara stood awkwardly in the kitchen, not sure whether to stay or leave.

But both boys couldn't tear their eyes away from each other, choosing to simply ignore Nina. At this point, the front door of Anubis slammed shut announcing the arrival of the other students, arriving back from their walk around campus.

"Well, it doesn't really matter what _you _think. It's Nina's opinion that we both care about, and I'm afraid, _mate_, that it's me that she likes" Eddie smirked knowingly, he knew he'd won him there; two things were clear when it came to Nina's feelings. A, she liked Eddie whether she chose to admit it or not. B, she most certainly didn't like Danny, not in that way anyway, clear as day since she'd been avoiding him like the black plague since their last encounter in their game of spin the bottle.

By now, the dining room was filled with uncomfortable students, passing uneasy glances at each other, watching the argument unfold.

"Really? 'Cos it certainly didn't seem that way yesterday, when she turned you down in front of all your friends"

"Okay, first off, you weren't even there. If you were there, you'd realise that the reason she 'turned me down' and the _only _reason, was because she didn't and still doesn't want to hurt a friend. Because that's the type of sweet, wonderful, compassionate girl she is. Which you would know if you knew her well enough"

"You think you know her better than I do? We've been best friends since preschool, heck, we even dated _way _before she ever met you"

"And how did that relationship end? She dump you?"

"You think you're so clever"

"Really?"

"Really"

"ENOUGH! That's _it_, I just can't deal with you two! Your argument is so petty and annoying, you really think that this is going to win Nina over? Numpty one and numpty two squabbling like three year olds? You're so wrapped up in your own teeny tiny boy brains, you didn't even realise that Nina left!" Danielle shrieked at the two, having had quite enough of their ridiculous quarrel.

Both boys looked around, eyes widening in shock and bewilderment that they'd managed to miss her swift escape.

"Yeah, that's right morons. _She left_!" she rolled her eyes at the idiots before marching up the stairs to lie down in her make shift bed in the corner of Nina and Amber's room.

"Seriously boys, you really don't understand women" Amber remarked, flipping her hair over her shoulder before grasping Alfie's hand and prancing out of the room with Mara and Jerome in tow. Fabian, Joy, Patricia and Mick simply walked into the boys' room where they planned to watch a film and Jess and Zack followed Danielle up the stairs. That left Eddie and Danny to glower at each other in silence for the remainder of the night. How fun.


	13. Chapter 13

"What are you doing with that suitcase, slimeball?" Patricia narrowed her eyes at Eddie who currently stood in the doorway of the living room dragging a suitcase behind him.

Nina and Patricia were stood in the kitchen around the dining table and the rest of the Anubis residents and American visitors were lounging in the living room staring intently at Eddie and what exactly he was doing.

"I'm leaving for America for a few months to visit my mom" he replied offhandedly as if it was no big deal. Eddie ignored the obvious whoop of delight he heard from Danny, focusing on only Nina to see what she had to say. _This is it, _Eddie thought, _her last chance_.

"W-What?" Nina whispered, her eyes downcast, refusing to meet his eyes. After what had happened between them the other day, she couldn't look at him without feeling guilty for not admitting the truth. Her heart pleaded with her to just scream at him _I do, I do like you! Please don't go! _But she was torn between what would make her happy and what was right. She couldn't believe that he was leaving though, how could he even think about it? The thought of it ripped her apart; did he know what he was doing to her?

"Eddie! You can't just pull out of school for that long" Mara gasped, shocked that someone could think of missing that much school.

"One of the few perks of being the son of the principal, I can leave whenever I want" he shrugged, not particularly phased by Mara's predictable reaction. It wasn't _her_ reaction he was waiting for.

"Wait, you're the son of the principal?" Zack probed, seemingly surprised at this information. You wouldn't expect to someone like Eddie to be the son of the principal, maybe someone like Fabian fitted the label better.

"Yeah"

"_Don't go_" Nina's voice croaked as she shut her eyes tightly, as if she expected him to just be like '_oh, okay!_' and turn around and un pack his suitcase. Everyone turned towards Nina, as if expecting her to say more and surprised at the agony twisted through her words.

"Why? Do you have a reason why I should stay?" he asked, anticipating her answer. He was ready for the blow to his tethered heart but it still hurt, nonetheless.

"Don't go, you're…you're my friend" her voice strained, trying to prevent her tongue from getting away from her and saying everything her heart begged her to say. _I'm being a good friend_, was all she kept repeating over and over to herself inside her mind to keep her believing that she was doing the right thing. For if she focused on the intense inner pain she was feeling at that moment or the look on Eddie's face instead, she didn't quite think that she'd feel the same way.

Eddie scoffed, "well that's just not quite good enough, like I expected anything better. Patricia, have anything to add?" he aimed his question at the girl who, after a few words, could fix all of this. If only she'd just tell Nina that she was okay with them. _Not likely_, Eddie thought.

Amber glared at Patricia, reminding her with her eyes about the conversation they'd shared, the one where she'd warned her about how much she was hurting Nina. Patricia, torn between what she knew was right and what she wanted, chose to say nothing, continuing on in her silent approach.

"Thought not" he rolled his eyes at his ex, how could one person be so selfish?

"Nina, anything more to add?" by this point, Eddie was even half making a joke. He didn't expect either of them to speak up, but he thought he'd give it one last shot anyway.

Nina simply turned away from him, gripping onto the back of one of the chairs while squeezing her eyes shut, trying to block out the mental image of Eddie flying away and forgetting about her that flooded her mind. Instead she focused on the feel of the hard, carved wood she gripped onto.

"Have you really thought this through Eddie? What about school? What about us, you know, your friends?" Joy pleaded with him, knowing full well what was going on between him and Nina. After the show they saw yesterday, you had to be pretty idiotic to not see that they both had pretty strong feelings for each other. She felt for Patricia, she really did, and she'd even been somewhat in that situation herself before with Fabian and Nina. But the agony in both Nina and Eddie's eyes were enough to make any friend in Patricia's situation give their blessing. She really didn't know how Patricia could stand it; the guilt would have been eating Joy alive.

"Well, I really have no other choice do I, Joy?"

"Nina…are you okay?" Patricia asked, genuinely worried about her friend who had turned rather pale in the past minute.

"Well, what do _you_ think Patricia?" Eddie sneered, obviously misinterpreting her intentions.

"Not because of _that _idiot. She looks like she's about to puke"

"Nina?" Eddie was now slightly worried about her and started to make his way towards the dining table, reaching it just in time to catch her as she fainted into his arms. Cliché though it sounded, that's what she literally did.

"NINA!" Amber cried as an echo of gasps were heard throughout the room as the students gathered around the frail girl who Eddie held in his arms.

"Well somebody call an ambulance!" Eddie barked at anyone who would listen, as Mara ran to the house phone and began dialling 999, her hands shaking so violently from worry and fright, she had to call Jerome over to do it for her.

After a few minutes, sirens could be heard in the distance as Mick went outside to watch out for the approaching ambulance.

Nina began to stir in Eddie's arms, much to the ecstasy of Eddie.

"Eddie…you…you didn't leave…you stayed with me?" her eyes fluttered, struggling to fight against the overpowering urge to rest them.

"Always"

He loved her, always had, always will.


	14. Chapter 14

**Thankyou so very much for all of the lovely reviews, they really made me smile :-) Carry on reviewing to tell me what you like/dislike and any suggestions about the story and where you think it should go. And now for chapter 14!**

* * *

Once the ambulance arrived, the students were frantic with worry and unease at what they should do now. Nina kept drifting in and out of consciousness while the paramedics promptly strapped her to a stretcher before one of the men asked if anyone wanted to go with her.

"I will" Danny gulped, wanting to be with one of the people in the world who meant the most to him, who was now being rushed to hospital.

"No, I'm going" Eddie audibly growled, his eyes screamed at Danny not to protest, but that did no good. Danny wasn't going to back down just because some arrogant little bad boy felt like he called the shots. But as Danny opened his mouth about to retaliate, Jess pulled him back shooting him a warning glance.

"That's fine, you go Eddie" she nodded at him, sending him a look as if to say '_look after her_' before walking into Zack's arms seeking the comfort of a hug. Before anybody else could object, Eddie shadowed the paramedics wheeling Nina away into the ambulance parked outside.

"We need to call Trudy and tell her we're going to the hospital, come on!" Amber almost shrieked in anxiety, fearful for the wellbeing of Nina. Everyone darted outside to call Trudy and a fleet of taxis to take them to the hospital where Nina and Eddie were now headed as the ambulance pulled away.

Amber paced the ground whilst nervously calling Trudy, but not before ordering Fabian to call enough taxis to take everyone to the hospital. Everyone was distressed, fearful and even a little mad but none as mad as Danny.

"Why the hell would you do that?! You stopped me going with Nina and let that _jerk _go instead!" Danny turned on Jess, eyes glaring at her while he furiously tried to contain his building rage by digging his nails into his fists.

"_Because_, we needed to get Nina to the hospital, what we _didn't _need was another one of your little macho wars. I'm _sorry_ Dan, but Nina likes Eddie! And besides, I think you need to calm down a bit before we get to the hospital. You're drawing blood" Jess explained as rationally and calmly as she could in the current circumstances. And she was right, Danny's hands were now lightly bleeding from the force he was applying with his nails.

"Taxis are here!" Alfie announced, spotting them driving in their direction. Everyone clambered in, all as desperate as the rest to get to the hospital and see how Nina was doing.

* * *

Now it was probably a strange sight, seeing thirteen kids, a woman and a doctor all crowded in a narrow hallway outside of a hospital ward room but that's exactly what people would have seen, had they been at the hospital that afternoon. Eddie listened patiently as the doctor spoke for an extensive time about 'vasovagal syncope' and other medical stuff that really went in one ear and out the next. But what he did understand from what the doctor said was that this particular brand of fainting could be caused by any number of things from sudden exposure to an unpleasant sight or experience, such as the sight of blood or standing for long periods of time. But what also caused Nina to faint could have been stress, emotional upset, fear or anxiety. _So basically, I made Nina collapse _Eddie thought. But luckily, he didn't have much time to ponder over that unpleasant thought as the doctor announced that people could go in to see her, but just one at a time.

So that's how Eddie ended up at approximately midnight at Nina's bedside, clutching her hand in his. He couldn't shut off his mind enough to will sleep along, so he just sat thinking.

"…Eddie" Nina croaked turning onto her side to face where he sat in the chair beside her. Eddie's heart soared with relief that she'd finally woken up. See, the doctor had said that she'd be in and out of consciousness for a while so since about three o'clock in the afternoon that day, they'd all taken turns sitting in with Nina and right now, she was under Eddie's watchful protection. But so far, no reports had arose about Nina stirring so people had mostly been sat in the room, talking to her sleeping form as means of entertainment.

She tried to sit up and perch herself on her elbows, but she was struggling so Eddie rapidly leaned forwards to help her.

"Here, I've got you" he smiled gently, helping to prop her up with a pillow.

"Why am I in the hospital?" her forehead creased in concentration, trying to remember what had happened.

"You fainted Nina, because of all the stress you were under" Eddie sighed, rubbing his own forehead in frustration. "I'm so sorry Nina" he expressed, the sincerity poured into his apology a first for Eddie. She did strange things to him; strange, wonderful things.

"It's not your fault that I can't handle stress properly" she half smiled, before turning her gaze to the ceiling.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Nina sighed exasperatedly, "why are hospital rooms so claustrophobic?" she wrinkled her nose in annoyance.

"You wanna go somewhere?"

"Are we allowed?" Nina furrowed her eyebrows at his suggestion, which simply made Eddie chuckle.

"Nina, when have I ever not done something just on the grounds that I'm not allowed?" he smirked before helping her out of the bed and heading for the door.

"So are all the others back at Anubis?"

"Nope" Eddie smiled, opening the door and inclining his head towards the hallway ahead of them.

There laid Amber, Patricia, Mara, Joy, Fabian, Mick, Jerome, Alfie, Danny, Jess, Zack and Danielle all asleep on the corridor. It was gone midnight, after all.

Jerome sat on the only chair in the corridor with Mara sat curled up against his chest, Joy laid across a bench while Fabian and Patricia sat on the floor, backs lent against either end of the bench, Amber sat on the floor with her back against the wall while Alfie sat next to her, funnily enough his head was laid on her shoulder and they held hands. Nina quickly took out her phone to snap a picture of the cute couple; Amber would never forgive her if she missed out a photo opportunity as great as this one. She also took a picture of Mick where he lay across the floor with his head on Fabian's lap as Fabian had his hand on Mick's head, caressing it gently in his dreams; perfect embarrassing picture to get a laugh from her friends. She then genuinely grinned seeing Danny, Danielle and Zack all sat with their backs against the wall and Jess laid across their laps, hand entwined with Zack's at the end. She didn't even know that Jess liked Zack in that way but it was definitely something that made her happy, seeing two of her best friends together.

"Come on then" Eddie smiled at her as they made their way towards the stairwell, neither quite sure where they were headed but as they quietly walked, their hands brushed ever so slightly before they both made a move to interlock their fingers. _Finally_, Eddie grinned.

It turns out they were headed towards the roof, where they both stood at the ledge just gazing out into the sky stretched out above them.

"Look how beautiful it is, a thousand million stars. It makes you realize how small you really are in the universe" Nina exclaimed, the soft breeze tugging at the hair around her shoulders.

"Do you like stargazing?" he asked intrigued, finding new things out about her every day.

"I don't do it a lot, but sometimes" she sighed, enjoying the calm and serenity of the night air, "it's nice to know that if you're so small, your problems must be as well. It kind of makes everything seem less important" she rounded off.

"I know what you mean, my mum always drags me to look at the stars with her when I'm home. No guessing she probably will have me out every night with her when I go back" Eddie laughed to himself, bemused at his mom's behavior.

On hearing Eddie talk about his journey back to the States, Nina turned away slightly a hurt look painted on her features. She didn't want him to go, he _couldn't_.

"Please don't go" she whispered for fear of what might happen after she uttered those words, turning back to Eddie to show him how much he was hurting her.

"It's only for a visit Nins, to see my mum" he reassured her.

As if mentally debating in her head something that Eddie did not know, she closed her eyes exhaling slowly, before taking a step closer to him and placing one arm on the nape of his neck and the other wrapped around his neck. Ever so slightly, she began to lead in, shocking Eddie so much that at first he couldn't physically _or _mentally respond. But the moment he could feel the vapor of her breath on his lips, he started to lean in towards her. They shared the softest, most passionate, delicate and exhilarating kiss either had ever experienced. Nina softly pulled away, simply leaning her forehead against his whilst trying to slow down her heart rate.

"We should head back down there" she whispered, trying to reach Eddie out of his stupor.

"…ahuh" Eddie gulped nervously, unsure of what had just happened causing the corner of Nina's lips to tug ever so slightly at the corners as she started heading back towards the stairwell.

* * *

"Eddie?" Nina whispered from where she lay wide awake on her hospital bed. It had been about an hour since their midnight trip to the rooftop and she couldn't sleep. Eddie had somehow ended up on the floor at the foot of her bed, trying but also failing to lull into a deep sleep.

"Nina?"

"Are you awake?" she probed, chewing her lip curiously.

"No, that's why I'm talking to you" she _knew_ he'd be smirking at her even though she couldn't physically see in the dark of the room, she just knew.

She rolled her eyes at him, chucking a pillow in his direction which she knew hit the target as she heard a muffled squeal.

"Very manly" she laughed.

"Shut up"

"Eddieeeeeee, I'm coldddddddd" she whined.

"Go under your quilt then" he sighed, stating the obvious.

"I can't, it's on the floor"

"Why's it on the floor?"

"Because I kicked it off when i was too warm and now i'm too cold and it's too far away to reach" she moaned.

"And what am I going to do about it?"

"Come lay with me?" she asked politely, which had Eddie doing as she asked before he even said his next question.

"And that's going to help you how?" he cautiously stood up and headed towards the bed, careful to avoid any obstacles in his way.

"Your body heat will warm me up; Jesus Eddie, you're boiling! You're like a werewolf or something!" she exclaimed as he clambered onto the bed next to her, bringing her into his chest where she lay comfortably.

"Are you comparing me to Jacob Black from Twilight?"

"Maybe I am" she smiled flirtatiously, before she changed to suspicious.

"Hang on a second, how do you know so much about a character from Twilight, a girl's film?" she turned her face towards Eddie, a playful smirk loitering on her lips.

"Erm, well, my little sister made me watch it" he lied, which Nina knew full well he was doing.

"YOU LIKE TWILIGHT!?" she gasped over-enthusiastically, barely containing her giggles.

"Sshhhh! I have a reputation to up keep here! But yeah, so what if I do? It's a devastating love story between two lovers who are doomed to be apart! It shows how true love conquers all!" he recited, attempting to rescue some of his masculinity but failing all the same.

"You believe that true love conquers all?" Nina asked, genuinely surprised yet in a happy kind of way.

"Yeah…I guess I do" he admitted reaching down to kiss the top of her head and envelope her in a hug, where they then fell asleep in this position mere minutes later.


	15. Chapter 15

Patricia yawned and stretched, easing off of the floor from where she'd slept that previous night. It was now around ten o'clock in the morning and she could see some of her friends stirring on the ground and decided to go check on Nina in the room opposite. As she turned the door handle to see how her friend was doing, she saw Nina laid on the bed, snuggled up against Eddie's chest whilst he had his arms wrapped around her protectively. She was about to turn back around towards the corridor when she felt someone else's presence behind her.

"Aww! They're so cute!" Amber cooed, entering the room after Patricia, all the while Eddie and Nina slept on oblivious to their audience.

"That is _so _adorable" Joy beamed as Nina shifted in her sleep, tightening her grip on Eddie, as all the others teenagers filed into the room.

"It's not _that _cute" Danny huffed, lingering near to the door with Danielle who kept sending him daggers.

"Amber, what are you doing?" Mara quizzed, watching her retrieve her camera from her purse and begin to take pictures of Eddie and Nina who were still asleep on the hospital bed.

"Taking pictures for when they're a couple and want cute photo memories!" Amber squealed excitedly taking pictures, causing the flash to go off and wake Eddie from his slumber.

Removing his grip from Nina ever so carefully to ensure that she didn't wake, he rubbed his eyes before turning to his friends.

"Amber, what are you doing?" he frowned at her still holding the camera in her hands giddily.

"She's taking pictures of you two being adorable" Jess smiled, delighted at her friend's happiness.

"You two are so cute together!" Amber exclaimed, verging on a scream.

"Amber! Shh, you're gonna wake Nina up!" he hissed before turning back to Nina on the bed, a small smile tugging at his cheeks.

"…Too late" Nina groaned, squinting with one eye at her friends gathered round her bed.

"NINA!" they all yelled, glad to see her conscious once again.

"Hey guys" she laughed at the reactions of her house mates. She felt so much better this morning and felt for sure that she'd be discharged soon.

"How are you feeling?" Eddie asked, reaching forward to take her hand in a comforting manner. And he was happily surprised when she didn't retract her hand or make any effort to do so. _Friends can hold hands, right? _Nina thought.

Danny and Patricia both scowled at Eddie's actions but chose to stay quiet, still too concerned about Nina's health to kick up a commotion.

"I'm feeling a lot better now, really. Actually, could somebody go get a doctor so I can see when I can get out of here?" she replied, smiling at Eddie. _Friends can smile at friends, _she reasoned in her mind. But it was no use, because whatever Eddie and she were, it was far more than friends now.

And so, it was around half an hour later when the doctor had agreed to Nina's release on the grounds that she stayed well rested and stress free and everyone was in taxis back to Anubis. And that's how Trudy, Nina, Eddie and Danny were piled into the taxi in a rather awkward ride home. Danny had insisted on sharing a taxi with Eddie and Nina, just to be sure that nothing went on between the two in his absence in the twenty minute ride home and Trudy had assertively stated that she too would need to ride back with Nina, just to ensure she was definitely well enough to return home. As Trudy chatted away with the driver, Nina shifted uncomfortably in the middle seat, sandwiched between Eddie and Danny in the back.

"Sooo, Nina, do you want to go somewhere for some lunch when we get back?" Danny asked, trying to get somewhere, _anywhere_, with Nina. She still wasn't talking to him properly and he _knew _that if he could get her alone she'd have a lot more to say without that idiot Eddie mithering around her all the good long day.

Nina glanced nervously to her right to watch Eddie's smile drop and a scowl break out on his once calm face.

"Erm, I-I think I'm just g-gonna rest when I g-get back" she mumbled incoherently, desperately clinging to any excuse to avoid any unwanted awkward circumstances with her and Danny. She already had enough on her mind trying to figure out what she could do to make Eddie stay, without upsetting Patricia. Why couldn't Danny have just left it? If Jess was right, and he'd really liked her for that long, why did he have to unveil his feelings now for her at such a complicated time?

After a few more minutes of tense silence, Nina's phone rang and it had barely finished its first bar of Mr Brightside before Nina hastily answered it, glad of any excuse to avoid the awkward situation that had arisen in the back of the taxi.

"Amber!" Nina sighed relieved to hear her best friend's voice on the other end of the line.

"_Hey Nins, just wanted to let you know that the rest of us are already at Anubis. And btw, you and Eddie were so totally cute in the hospital earlier! Are you two finally getting together?" _

Nina blushed furiously, with a small smile playing on her lips, silently thanking the lord that nobody else in the cab could hear their conversation.

Danny coughed, catching her attention "Erm, Nina…the phone's on loud speaker" his face showed that he wasn't too happy hearing what Amber had to say about his crush.

"Oh, right, erm, Amber? We're almost here now so I'll talk to you later? …In private?"

_"Oh, yeah, sure. Talk later, bye!" _Amber giggled, obviously having heard what Danny had said and imagining what jealousy she'd sparked.

"Dearies, we're here!" Trudy exclaimed, seeing the Anubis house gradually coming into view.

"Thank God" Nina muttered to herself.

* * *

Upon entering the house, everyone decided to just sit and relax in the room, absentmindedly chatting amongst their friends and Eddie refused to leave Nina's side at any point during that period. Occasionally, he would even slip his arm around her waist to keep her close to him, or reach down and whisper in her ear to check that she was okay, or even secure her hand in his to reassure her of his presence.

"Nina, can I…can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?" Patricia requested, finally deciding to do what was right by the friend.

"Erm, sure?" Nina answered anxiously, worried that Patricia was finally going to confront her about her feelings for Eddie and demand that she choose between the two, or something equally cliché like that. Eddie reluctantly let go of her hand, eyebrows furrowed at Patricia and what she was going to say to Nina. Didn't she know that Nina needed to relax without any stress? Did she _want _her to end up in the hospital again!

Patricia led them out into the hallway, sensing no need to make it more private; hopefully, this conversation would only last a few minutes most.

"I know you like Eddie…but I'm okay with that. Actually, I'm happy for you" Patricia shrugged, trying to make Nina feel comfortable in the situation. After seeing them together at the hospital, asleep and still in each other's arms, well it made Patricia see things differently. _Of course_ Nina had feelings for Eddie, that much was clear right from the start. But now, Patricia finally felt at ease with the possibility that they could, or rather would be, getting together.

"Are you sure?" Nina bit her lip in anticipation, hoping that what she was saying was true and not some cruel twisted dream that she'd wake up from in any minute. Never in a million years would she be expecting this response from Patricia!

"Yeah, I am. Eddie and I were a train wreck and you two seem really happy whenever you're together. What kind of friend would that make me if I made you feel guilty about being happy?" Patricia smiled, a first genuine smile she'd felt in weeks all because of what she felt: relief. She didn't _like _being so emotional and angry all the time, she hated how spiteful and cruel her thoughts had become whenever they were around each other. But now, she could be at peace. After all, she truly did want Nina to be happy and this was what it took to make that happen. So yes, Patricia was now finally happy. And it felt awesome.

Nina crushed Patricia in an overwhelming hug, for she felt words weren't enough to portray her gratitude. This would make everything _good _again.

"Thank you" Nina whispered laughing hysterically, just because she was so happy. Which made Patricia realise that she'd made the right choice. And it felt good to know that she was the cause of someone's happiness; even if it was also her who was the cause of her sadness to begin with. But Patricia didn't dwell on that thought for long, she was too busy shaking her head and laughing at Nina's excitement.

They both headed back in towards the living room, Nina skipping over to the sofa to sit by Eddie.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" he mused noticing the beaming smile she held on her face.

"Nothing, just had a good talk with a really good friend" she replied looking across the room to Patricia who simply smiled in response.


	16. Chapter 16

Later that day, Danny sat in the living room by himself when Eddie strolled in whistling.

"Still here then?" Danny frowned.

"For now, Nina needs me. When does your American rodeo giddy on up and away?" Eddie smirked, rolling his eyes at the stuck up douche bag.

"What are you trying to say about us, Nina's _real _friends?"

"Oh no, not friends _plural_. I think Zack, Danielle and Jess are really nice. It's just you I can't stand"

"It really doesn't matter, you know. Nina's never going to be yours as long as that ex of yours is still hanging around. She's not in love with you pal, she's just got a little crush" Danny laughed coldheartedly before being pinned against the wall by Eddie's strong grip.

"You listen to me, _pal_. Just because you got Nina to tell you she loves you once before, doesn't mean it's ever going to happen again. And what me and Nina have is far more than 'a little crush'" Eddie sneered in his face, loosening his grip and letting Danny fall to the floor.

"What do you mean, I got Nina to tell me she loves me once?" Danny regained his composure, getting back onto his feet.

"Oh, come on. I heard Nina the other day telling all the girls in her room how she loves you" Eddie shook his head at him, confused as to why he'd play dumb instead of acting up to it.

"She…she told them she loves me?" Danny's eyes showed surprise and an overwhelming sense of happiness and glee.

_Uh oh, _Eddie sheepishly winced, thinking about how he'd just given Danny the upper hand in their war for Nina. But before Danny could retaliate, all the others filled into the room.

"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" Danielle asked innocently enough but you could sense the questioning tone behind her smooth words. _Were you arguing again? _Her eyes seemed to be saying.

"Nothing" Eddie gritted his teeth, now angry about Nina and Danny's relationship.

"Eddie dear, your mother called, she told me to tell you she's re-booked your flight for next week and she'll text you the details tomorrow" Trudy called from the hallway, where she was about to go grocery shopping.

"You're still going?" Nina bit her lip in fear of losing him, before they'd even had the chance to begin. She hadn't talked to him yet about her little chat with Patricia yet; she wanted to find the right time but now she knew that if she didn't act soon, she was going to lose him.

"Give me a reason to stay" he almost begged.

After seeing Nina turn back to Patricia and Patricia sent her a reassuring smile, he felt for sure that he was going to get shot down yet again.

"I like you. I mean, really, _really _like you Eddie. As in, an 'I want to be your girlfriend' kind of way" she smiled gently at him, hoping that this would mean that they could finally be together.

But after glancing over Nina's shoulder to where he thought a grimacing Danny would be, instead he found a smug Danny who simply mouthed to him '_she doesn't love you'_.

"Maybe…maybe that isn't enough" he sighed at her confused and hurt expression, "maybe I don't just want you to like me, maybe I want you to love me" he pleaded.

"What do you mean?"

"I want you to tell me you love me Nina!" he cried exasperated, surely she could just say those three simple words.

"W-What?" she stuttered.

"Tell me you love me. I _know _you do, so just say those three simple words"

"I can't" she closed her eyes in a silent prayer, hoping she wouldn't have to explain herself in a room filled with people.

"Why not? Why can't you 'do love' Nina? Tell me!" he demanded.

"Because!"

"Because what?!" he yelled, their faces so close together now he could feel her warm breath tinging the air around his lips.

"Because! It doesn't change anything!" she yelled, now angry at the fact that he'd brought it up.

"What do you mean?" Eddie queried, now it was his turn to be confused.

"No matter who I love, or how much I tell them, it doesn't stop them being taken away from me! My parents, my friends, everyone who I've ever told have just _gone_. And even with Fabian, I could never tell him I loved him even though I know that I did, because I was scared that he'd leave me as well" she winced at the memory.

"But I'm not going to leave you Nina!" he stated, grabbing her hands soothingly.

"No! You can't say that!" she cried, swiftly withdrawing her hands from his hold on them, "don't you dare promise me that, you don't know! You know the day that I decided that I was going to tell Fabian I loved him, the day I decided to break all of my rules, do you want to know what happened? He _dumped me_ Eddie, before I got the chance" she rounded off miserably.

"Nina, I'm _so sorry_" Fabian stepped forward, his guilt-ridden face proving to Nina his sincerity.

"It's okay Fabian, I'm over it now. And I'm happy for you and Joy, I really am" she smiled at him reassuringly letting him know that there were no hard feelings before turning back to Eddie 'but I'm not going to tell you I love you, _because I can't_" she explained.

"It's okay Nina, you don't have to" Amber commented from the other side of the room, feeling sympathy for her friend.

"No, Amber. It's not okay. If you take so much care with those words, how could you say them to Danny?" he jealously retorted.

"What are you talking about?" she narrowed her eyes at him, perplexed by his latest statement.

But when Eddie failed to reply, Danny stepped up to comment, "he overheard you telling the girls in your room that you love me" he grinned at her but after seeing confusion littering a collection of the girls faces, he added "…didn't he?" confused as to why they were confused.

As if sudden realisation dawned on Nina's face, she frowned and marched up to Eddie and slapped him powerfully across the face, receiving a collective gasp from the room.

"What was that for?" Eddie cried, wincing at the pain in his left cheek.

"THAT, was for eavesdropping. And THIS" she spoke as she slapped him again, "is for misinterpreting the conversation and then blabbing about it to the entire room!" she ran her fingers through her hair, infuriated at the situation.

"What do you mean I misinterpreted the conversation? I heard you clear as day!" he countered.

"WE WERE TALKING ABOUT PETS, you _idiot_!" she yelled as understanding sparked on all the other girls' faces too. "Amber had just been on the phone to her Dad, when he put their cat on the phone and she was cooing and saying 'I love you' to the _cat_. And, if I remember the conversation rightly, she asked if I ever said I love you to _my _cat, which I don't. But then, Jess asked if I told Danny I loved him, which I then said yes I have…DANNY'S MY DOG!" she exclaimed, shaking her head at his stupidity.

"Oh…so you haven't told Danny you love him?" Eddie winced shamefacedly for getting the wrong end of the stick.

"No, at least not in _that _way" she explained, hoping that he'd finally understand.

"Okay, so I'm sorry Nina. I was out of line there, and I apologise. But _I love you_, and you're not going to lose me. There's no one in this room, in this school, or anywhere in this world who I'd rather be with right now. I don't just love you Nina, I'm _in _love with you" he clutched at her hands, barely breathing waiting for what she would say next.

"I-I can't…I can't say it Eddie" she whispered, trying to stay clutching onto his hands but he simply snatched them away.

"Say it"

"Edd-

"_Say _it" he continued.

"I can't!"

"Yes you can, and unless you do, I'm walking out of that door right now and I'm leaving for America. You're the _only reason I'm here_ and without you, there's no point in me staying" he replied, backing away from her and closer and closer towards the door.

"_Please _Eddie, don't make me say it" she shook her head, pain flooding into her eyes imagining the prospect of him leaving.

But he didn't stay; he turned around fully and was seconds away from reaching the door. Everyone in the room looked around uncomfortably, neither sure of what to say nor do.

A thousand images battled through Nina's mind, scenario after scenario playing about what could happen if he left back for America. Would he stay over there permanently? It was more than possible. Would she be utterly devastated? Of course she would. Just considering the painful possibility of this made her heart plunge into a dark, drab despair and she knew she _couldn't _let him go. And just as his skin grazed the cold bronze of the door handle, Nina cried in a haste, "I LOVE YOU!"

Eddie hesitated for just a second before turning on his heel and racing towards her and grabbing her face in his hands and seizing her lips with his. This time, she had no hesitation but just melted in his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck whilst his remained cupping her cheeks. This was their first _real _kiss in a _real _moment; no petty game of spin the bottle to hide behind, no guilt-ridden quick kiss on the roof of a hospital, but just a pure, magnificent, wondrous _love_ filled kiss.

"I love you too" Eddie grinned, leaning his forehead against hers as the room was filled with awes.

Danny, having had enough of this love fest, stormed from the room in an angry bubble.

"I'll go after him" Danielle offered, sighing as she followed him from the room. She felt sorry for Danny; she knew how much he liked Nina but Nina hadn't felt that way about him in a long time. And now she had Eddie, Danny's chances were getting slimmer and slimmer which must have been heart breaking.

Nina smothered Eddie in a crushing hug, before pulling away and slapping his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?!" he cried in indignation.

"For being such a jerk!" she exclaimed angrily before taking his hand in hers and sitting down once again on the sofa.

Things were finally _good._


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! This is just a real brief chapter to explain exactly what's going on with Danny right now and explore some American friendships, a longer one will be up soon with some more Neddie action! Keep reading/reviewing :-)**

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"Danny…" Danielle soothed as she tried to turn his attention away from the bin he was in the middle of demolishing with sharp, heavy boots of his foot. They were on the outskirts of the trail leading into the trees that swarmed near the house as the wind danced past them, almost as if it too wanted to avoid the conflict bound to ensue.

"Dan…" she tried again, with a little more firmness coating her words, eager to get him to talk to her.

But as he continued on in his violent rampage, destroying whatever object his foot met in the process, her words were meaningless bubbles that floated around his ears. He didn't want to be consoled; he didn't want to listen to reason. He could just imagine all the wise words she'd spit from her belittling mouth about how Nina deserved happiness and how he'd get over her 'in time'. But he'd had enough of the 'in time' crap that was continuously hurled at him. His unconditional longing for the girl who'd just publicly rejected him by admitting her love for another guy had lasted a lengthy, strenuous, six years. He couldn't fathom how _anyone _could tell him that 'in time' would help him now.

"Danny, please ju-

"Just what, huh? Calm down? Relax a little? Shake it off?" he yelled disdainfully, now pacing over the same, worn ground; over, over, over.

"I'm not here to patronize you or even to make you feel better" she sighed, making Danny reconsider his thoughts.

"Well if you're not here to make me feel better, what are you here to do?" he shook his head, utterly confused by the point in her being there if not only to console him.

"To help you understand? I don't know Danny, I don't know what I can say to make you feel any better. But you and I both know that Nina deserves happiness more than anybody, and now she has it. Don't take that away from her" she pleaded softly yet it pierced through him harder than wounds from a knife could do.

"And what about my happiness? I'm your friend as well Danielle, do you not want me to be happy?"

"Of course I do, but not like this. Not by destroying somebody else's happiness in the process. She still needs her friends around her, she does love you Dan…just not in the way that you want her to" she admitted meekly, with a slight head shake as if to reinforce what she was saying. But there was no need- he got what she was saying loud and clear.

"But I've liked her for _so long!_ He barely even knows her and _he _gets her? I've watched her go from boyfriend, to boyfriend, to boyfriend, just waiting for a time when it might be me she considers. When is it _my _turn to have happiness?" he vented, although now he expressed more pain than anger.

"See, why couldn't you have just admitted all this to her years ago, when she was still in America and you had a bigger chance than anyone!" she breathed, exasperated at the complications relationships and friendships posed.

"I don't know" he laughed humourlessly, finally reaching the end of his venting.

"I understand what you're saying Danielle, and I'm not gonna try and wreck this for them. I'll even try and be happy for them…under one condition"

"And what's that?" her eyebrows elevated in suspicion, surveying his expression to speculate as to what emotions he was giving away. That was the problem with Danny, when he wanted to, he could switch off his emotions at the drop of a hat. Even if he was feeling ready to commit on the inside, his face could give nothing away. _Damn him, _she thought nervously.

"No corny quotes to make me feel better" he grinned at her, one of his best friends.

"There's plenty more fish in the sea?" she laughed, immensely pleased that he was smiling again, even if it was just a front.

"Stop it" he chuckled playfully while she linked her arm through his, taking them back in the direction of the house.

"It's not meant to be?" she grinned at his squeamish expression.

"No more!" he shook his head, laughing sincerely along with his friend.


	18. Chapter 18

"I'm sick" Nina's nasally voice announced, as she lay in bed the next day covered in used tissues. She'd developed a quick, strong cold and was now laid in her pyjamas in her bed while Eddie stood next to her.

"No kidding" he replied, smirking at his girlfriend. _Girlfriend_ and _Nina _just sounded so incredibly right together; he was actually happy.

She glared at him, throwing a pillow from behind her head towards where he narrowly missed it. Eddie raised his hands in defence, signalling an apology.

"Sorry, sorry, you want me to go get you some juice or something?" he asked sincerely caring as he reached over to feel her forehead burning up considerably.

"No, just come lie with me" she implored, pouting at where he stood. Clambering over to the opposite side of the bed to where he was stood, Eddie scrambled under the quilt, allowing Nina to curl into his side, resting her head on top of his arm stretched underneath her body, bringing her even closer to him.

"Why did you go to the furthest side of the bed?" she frowned, although he knew that she wasn't frowning at the question but was just in a fed up mood in general. Thus, as her boyfriend, it was his duty to get her out of her funk.

"I can only lay on the left side of the bed" he reasoned, looking down at her petite, delicate form. Even ill, she was still beautiful.

They lay together for a few minutes before the sound of Nina's stomach churning into life brought them out of their peaceful repose. Eddie chuckled at this before turning down to meet her eyes once again.

"You hungry down there, by any chance?" he mused, raising his eyebrows in question.

"A little…but it takes too much effort to go downstairs" she pouted, squeezing her eyes shut, trying as hard as she might to shut out the intense head throbbing she could feel.

"Well I can fix that" Eddie replied slyly, and before she knew it, he was lifting her out of bed and wrapping her legs around his hips. He bolted down the stairs, snatching up a blanket for her as they went.

"Eddie!" she laughed, hiding her face in his shoulder, preparing for the fall she anticipated. But Eddie must have been stronger than she thought as he carried her safely but yet still briskly down the stairs and into the living room where he bounded over to the sofa, Nina still attached to him. He jumped onto the sofa, pinning Nina down underneath him where she continued laughing hysterically, smiling up at her new boyfriend.

Slowly but surely, he began leaning in towards her soft, supple lips while Nina whispered "but I'm sick".

"I don't care" he grinned, reaching down to her small form and planting a soft peck on her lips.

"Don't mind me" Fabian commented from where he sat reading his book opposite them on a chair.

Startled by his appearance, Eddie bolted up right, removing himself from the straddling position he held Nina in. Was it their fault that they were so wrapped up in each other, they failed to miss a fellow house mate who currently resided in the same room?

"Well, I'm going to go get you some juice" Eddie remarked, nodding his head before edging towards the kitchen awkwardly.

"Soooo, whatcha doing?" Nina smiled before hopping down onto the seat next to Fabian.

"Plotting world domination…or just reading another science fiction book" he lifted up the cover of his book, showing Nina what he was reading.

"Wow, looks…exciting" Nina raised her eyebrows in question, doubting the interest the book held.

Reaching over and grabbing the book, she turned to the blurb and after skimming a short paragraph of several words she didn't understand- nor cared to- she handed the book back to him, careful to not let go of his current page. Yes, exciting definitely wasn't the word that came to mind.

"Well maybe exciting isn't the best way to describe it, but it's still worth the read!" Fabian defended his book style, unintentionally summoning a laugh from Nina.

She watched him for a short while, just the casual turn of his page and how he so often looked up at her to meet her eyes.

"I've missed this, I've missed _you_. Why aren't we best friends anymore?" shaking her head solemnly, she made Fabian look up from his book to see the sadness swept in her eyes.

"I don't know, but I've missed you Nina. I want my best friend back" he admitted, sincerity storming his eyes. Since the breakup, neither had barely spoken a word to the other and it broke Nina's heart to realise that not only did she lose a boyfriend, but her best friend that fateful day. They were 'just friends' before they started going out, and it was her biggest desire for them to be again.

"Well, let's make that happen" she grinned before reaching over and hugging him. This just made everything _perfect_. Fabian and she had been through so much together (a lot more life threatening situations than most friends, that's for sure) and it was utterly ridiculous for them to simply cut all ties with each other just because they'd broken up and found other people that made them happy. If Nina could have her best friend back, everything else was already in place. She had the amazing boyfriend, the prestigious boarding school, brilliant friends both from her hometown and new school, and now she could have her Fabian back.

"Well, what's going on here" Eddie entered the living room, jealous flames burning behind his pupils, clutching the two glasses or orange juice so tight Nina wouldn't be surprised if they shattered under the pressure.

"I just got my best friend back, best _friend _Eddie" Nina added particular stress on 'friend' as to show Eddie exactly what she meant. Her eyes warned him not to make a scene as her hand reached out for him to take a seat on the now empty sofa where she made her way over to.

"Here's your juice" he smiled as he took a seat before placing a kiss on her cheek. He was relatively calm now that Nina had returned to his side where she could stay under his watchful protection. He wasn't going to let her get away; not this time.

"Aghh…aghhhh…CHOO!" she sneezed into the tissue Eddie quickly placed in front of her, before sighing grouchily.

"Well, I'm going to go get some more tissues. God, I hate being ill!" she pouted, causing Eddie to chuckle lightly.

"I know, baby" he leaned down and kissed her temple before she got up and headed towards the hallway in search of more tissues.

Eddie couldn't help but smile as he watched her leave, then turned back to the room and took a sip of his drink. Seeing Fabian watching him with an amused smile, he suddenly became curious.

"What?" he asked, setting his drink back down on the table.

"Nothing, just seeing you and Nina together is a lot different than seeing you and Patricia together, that's all" Fabian replied whilst continuously smiling. Eddie considered this for a moment, thinking back about how he'd acted with Patricia. He really had changed a lot with Nina, hadn't he?

"Don't hurt her" Fabian sighed, putting down his book and Eddie could tell that he'd been arguing with himself about saying this for a while. His breathing became a little hitched and he kept pushing his hands through his hair, as if he feared what Eddie would say to him.

"What, like you did you mean?" Eddie scoffed at him and shook his head in disbelief; he really had a nerve.

Eddie had been there, _he'd _been the one to wipe away her tears and try his best to return the signature smile that he so loved to her face. He'd seen how hard it was for her to accept Fabian's new found affections for Joy, and even harder that he might have even developed them while he was still with Nina. What right did he have to lecture Eddie on hurting Nina, when it had been Eddie that helped her the last time _he_ hurt her?

"Yes, exactly like I did. She's still my best friend and I can see how much you care about her. Equally, she quite obviously feels the same about you. But I just want to make sure she's gonna be okay, you have no idea how much I regret hurting her" Fabian had been suffering from a guilty heart every time he saw her and never wanted her to feel so hurt again.

"And you're telling me that you regret breaking up with my girlfriend because…?" Eddie clenched his jaw in annoyance, obviously misinterpreting what Fabian was trying to say.

"Eddie, I love Nina. But _only as a friend_. I don't regret breaking up with her because if I didn't, I wouldn't have Joy right now and she wouldn't have you. What I _do _regret is making her feel so upset, that's all I'm trying to say. You've got nothing to worry about man, I'm not gonna try and take her away from you. You've only got one person to worry about for that" Fabian inclined his head towards the window where Danny was jogging back towards the house.

"I know, thanks Fabian" Eddie sighed, genuinely happy about their friendship. For as long as Fabian still had Joy, Eddie knew there was absolutely nothing to worry about between him and Nina. Danny on the other hand, was the cause of a slight buckle in his confidence.

Danny, unaware of the previous conversation, strolled into the house and seated himself on the available arm chair next to Fabian. Glancing around at the current house mates settled in the room, Eddie took a moment to realise who exactly sat in his company. Himself, Nina's present (and in his opinion, best to date) boyfriend, Fabian, her previous boyfriend and first love, and Danny, a past fling and possible threat to the relationship he longed to hold onto with Nina.

"Well, this is nice. Two of Nina's ex-boyfriends and her current boyfriend sitting in the same room" Eddie awkwardly commented, shuffling uncomfortably where he sat waiting for Nina to return. All three boys glimpsed around the room, realising the truth behind Eddie's words. Now reigned in an awkward stance, each boy was as eager as the last for Nina to return and break the uncomfortableness that hovered in the air.

"Hey, I'm back" Nina smiled warmly at the sight of Eddie waiting for her on the sofa. Clutching the box of tissues she had left in search of, she sank into the sofa whilst slinging her legs across Eddie's lap where he tenderly caressed her feet in an effort to soothe her. Nina, smiling at the sensation, began to close her eyes and exhaled at the peacefulness she felt despite her ill condition. Now joined in the presence of Nina, the room felt once again peaceful and relaxed. It was funny how much of an effect once person could have on the mood of a room.

"What took you so long?" Eddie gently prodded, placing a stray lock of hair that had fallen into her eyes tucked back behind her ear. As he began to retrieve his hand, she simply locked her hold on it, entwining their fingers together before answering.

"I was Amber ambushed," she shuddered, although she was pleasantly melancholy with this particular encounter, "she asked if we wanted to go on a triple date with her, Alfie, Mara and Jerome, is that okay with you?" she questioned, idly playing with his fingers prised with hers.

"Sure, as long as you're feeling better" he replied, moderately excited at the prospect of an official date with Nina- even if it was with four of their closest friends.

A comfortable silence settled in the air, a nice rarity for mornings in Anubis House. And even rarer given the present company of ex's, present and past loitering in the living room. But yet, comfortable silence was what it was as Eddie and Nina peacefully settled into the sofa, leaving Fabian to happily sift through his book and Danny click, click, clicking away on his phone. In fact, the only thing threatening to disturb this tranquil was the building grumble emitting from Nina's stomach.

Eddie chuckled, now remembering the purpose of him coming downstairs, "I'd almost forgotten your appetite was the reason we came down here" he shook his head, smiling at her.

"Do you want me to go make you something?"

"No, don't leave me" she pleaded although light-heartedly, and loved the sound as he laughed back at her. She thrived in it, as she looked up into his eyes. One look into them and Nina could see everything that she wanted; he really, truly loved her. And it didn't even pain her to say that she loved him too anymore. In fact, she rejoiced in it. The only problem that still littered her otherwise happy thoughts was Danny- she wanted their painless, easy going friendship back without the added hassle of over thinking everything. 'Will this give him the wrong impression?', 'will he read more into this than there is?', 'can I still hug him without it being weird?'.

"I'm headed into the kitchen to make some pancakes, I'll make you some Nina. You too Eddie" Danny interrupted Nina's thoughts, catching everyone in the room's attention.

Too shocked to do anything but stutter a quick 'yes please', Nina's eyes simply widened in shock and amazement, sure that there was still more trouble to come concerning Danny. But once again leaving behind a trail of bewilderment, Danny strolled forwards and ruffled Nina's hair in a playful fashion before strolling into the kitchen to apparently start making pancakes.

"Did he just…?"

"Yeah…" Nina finished Eddie's sentence, neither expanding but both knowing exactly what the other was referring to. He was acting so…normal. So completely opposite to what they expected him to act since their new found relationship status took off. To kick off, scream, shout, be sarcastic, and be rude, anything but this was what they were prepared for. And the fact that he wasn't, just made them feel even more uncomfortable than they would have done if he did.

"Well, I'm going to leave you with…that" Fabian hesitated before leaving the room, slightly confused and intrigued yet not completely concerned by Danny's strange actions either way. Or at least not enough to make him stay and hear what he had to say. Besides, he was sure that whether there was another man-to-man showdown or a pleasant conversation where he confessed to his lack of feelings, he would surely hear about it from Amber or someone else in the house. For nothing stayed secret in the House of Anubis for long, or at least nothing Ancient Egyptian curse related.

While he was set to make some awesome pancakes and even had the ingredients out ready, Danny first decided on heading back into the living room to clear up a few things with Eddie and Nina. Surely, they were at least a little bit surprised- though he hoped pleased- at his reaction to their relationship, or lack of. Taking a seat in the armchair across from the two, a coy smile played on his lips seeing the scrutinizing faces they both held.

"Listen, I do still really like you Nina" Danny began, wanting to get that out of the way to start with all the while noticing the tensed position Eddie now held, "but I can see that you're happy together. And I'm happy that you're happy. What I really want is to go back to being friends without all this weirdness and any awkward tension between me and either of you. You're both great for each other, and anyone with a good pair of eyes can tell that you both really care about each other a lot. And that's all I want Nina, somebody to care for you. At the end of the day, I came here to help support Jess, _not _so I could get into fights over a crush and lose a friend because I was dumb. And I really want things to go back to normal, you know, _before _I made a total ass of myself. I don't want to do anything to wreck your relationship, hey, Eddie's never done anything to me. So why should I be a problem for you two? I'm willing to get over it if you are" he rounded off, feeling somewhat relieved to have finally gotten that off of his chest. And he meant every word.

"I've missed you Danny, _this _Danny" Nina shrugged as if she didn't care that she was admitting it and reached over for a hug, and he knew exactly what she meant. He didn't feel like himself when he had all that wild jealousy building up inside of him. And looking to Eddie for a bit of bone throwing, he reached out a hand.

"It's all cool man, glad I don't have a mortal enemy anymore" Eddie smirked, leaning forward for your typical guy shake.

Pleased that he'd achieved what he'd intended for today, he sauntered back into the kitchen with a satisfied smile sewn onto his face. _Back to normal_, that sounded good.


	19. Chapter 19

After all the stress, tension and drama that had been built up ever since the American visitors arrived for this short holiday, the Anubis residents thought it was time to have a real, civilised dinner where no one wanted to kill anyone. Well, except Amber, but that was hardly anything drastic when Alfie and Jerome were being…well, Alfie and Jerome.

"ALFIE!" Amber screeched, looking down horrified at the bright yellow stain now permanently dyed on her new blouse. Alfie grimaced on hearing the roaring laughter from around the table, knowing his girlfriend well enough to know that this would just enrage her further. See, he'd been so _good _recently, trying to upkeep his end of the bargain from what he and Amber had negotiated were the terms for them to consider getting back together. He felt especially guilt-ridden, seeing as Amber had never held out on her end of the deal; she was basically acting like the perfect girlfriend (well, for Alfie anyway). It wasn't like he'd _meant _to find what Jerome had just said so hilariously funny, or that he'd just at that moment decided to take a vast gulp of orange juice from his glass, or that Amber was sat directly opposite him. But, things happen.

"Sorry Ambs, I'll go shopping with you tomorrow for a new outfit? My treat?" he winced, grasping onto the hope that this was a good enough apology for Amber. But more so in hope that his bribery would win his girlfriend back around. It seemed to work as she was soon clapping her hands happily, quickly forgetting about her ruined shirt at the promise of a shopping trip.

"Girls are so easy to appease" Zach chortled, amused by Amber's short outburst and how Alfie swiftly found the solution to rectify it.

"You're kidding me, right? I said Yacker had a big appetite _once_, and she ignored me for a week! Not all girls are like Amber" Eddie reminisced, and it was weird because it wasn't weird. No one at the table felt at all awkward at the casual reference to Eddie and Patricia's old relationship, not even Nina felt any insane jealousy eating away at her. After all that had happened, and all the trouble their young feelings had caused, no one could afford to be sensitive anymore. They simply had to accept what had happened, and move on with their lives. If you asked Eddie, it was a pretty decent ethic to go by.

"So I got a little sensitive? But when you used the same phrase to describe Alfie and Mick, it's hard not to be offended!" Patricia snorted, shaking her head.

"Please, have you met Danny? He inhales three burgers before bed every night!" Danielle snorted, disgusted at the appetite of some of the boys she knew. I mean, given a girly night in, she could eat her weight in chocolate bars and popcorn whilst sat sobbing watching The Notebook or whatever. But even Danielle's appetite had its limits.

"But how do you know he eats three burgers before bed every night?" Amber wondered with such an innocent expression, Danielle had to restrain the urge to aw.

"Oh, I don't know Amber, maybe because he's told her?" Eddie rolled his eyes at her, wondering how someone so…_slow _could have been so smart when it came to relationship advice. It was her that got Eddie wondering in the first place about his feelings towards Nina, whether they were still completely platonic like they'd once been or if something new was starting to surface.

"Or maybe, because she was up close and personal with him and his bedtime routine" Jerome raised his eyebrows suggestively at the two. It didn't take a genius to work out where he was going with this.

Even though both Danny and Danielle knew that nothing of that sort had happened, they both averted their gaze to the table in front of them in embarrassment. A light blush swept across Danielle's cheeks, receiving a collection of giggles from around the table.

"Oh, shut up Jerome. We all know what you and Mara get up to behind your bedroom door" Patricia sneered across the table, unleashing a chorus of wolf whistles around the table. Jerome squeezed Mara's hand under the table where their hands had been linked throughout the meal, before giving her an exasperated look.

"Jealous?" Mara pursed her lips teasingly, causing everyone to laugh in shock and amusement at the wild look on Patricia's face.

Jerome turned to his girlfriend stunned at her allusive response. He'd expected her to blush crimson in embarrassment or hide her face in his shoulder in awkwardness, not to have countered Patricia's comment. This girl never ceased to amaze him, and he loved her for it.

As Jerome leaned in for an affectionate short kiss with Mara, everyone pulled faces and gagged in a joking manner. It was nice that they could joke again, no longer under the strain of unease of tension but joined in a light-hearted conversation as friends do.

"Ew, no!" Amber shuddered, gaining confused observations from many around the table.

"What's the matter Amber? I thought you lived for this type of romance?" Zack questioned, stunned by her response. From all that he'd gathered from the girl, she was the typical romantic guru of the house.

"Oh no, I'm not talking about the _totally _adorable display of affection by Jara. I'm saying that Danny and Danielle can't date!" she exclaimed perplexed, which once again confused everyone even more.

"Why?" Danny asked, not that he was interested in dating Danielle; she was purely his friend. Albeit, a close friend, but still, a friend all the same. He was just confused by Amber's insistence that they couldn't date.

"Because they wouldn't have a cute couple name! They'd just be, be…I don't even know what they'd be because they have the same name!" she gasped, as if it wounded her to think of a relationship without a cute couple name. Meanwhile, everyone laughed at Amber's Amber-ness and the looks of confusion and entertainment plastered on Danny and Danielle's faces. Things were finally, happy.


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update this story! At first I had a lack of inspiration, and then when I did finally have an idea where to take this story I had no time to write it. Well, here it is anyway, enjoy! :-)**

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It was the last day of their short half-term holiday, which consequently meant that it was also the last day of the Americans' stay at Anubis house. Caring words were shared, the usual 'keep in touch' and comforting goodbyes chorused around the group of friends like an effortlessly gratified end to a typical romantic comedy. As if to complete the look, Eddie stood with his arms draped around Nina's waist, nuzzling her neck from behind. The whole of Anubis house stood gathered around the taxi ready to take Danny, Zack, Danielle and Jess to the airport and nothing could pierce the peaceful bubble that enveloped them all- everybody was satisfied at the departure of their foreign friends.

"Maybe we'll finally get some peace now" Eddie's soft voice whispered against Nina's skin and she couldn't prevent goose bumps trailing along her body, just drinking in that he was _hers_.

"Maybe" she sighed, just observing the way her friends waved so enthusiastically at the slowly distancing car for people they'd known barely a week. It amazed her how quickly her two sets of friends became fast friends, and she was glad that it was partly due to her.

"You okay?" Eddie frowned, slightly caught off guard at Nina's apprehensive mood.

For Eddie, even though Danny had insisted that he was 'backing off' as he put it, he had to admit that he'd been constantly on edge around the two all the same. But who wouldn't be? Danny straight up admitted that he still had strong feelings for Nina and so Eddie couldn't help his guard being on wide alert for any moves made by him. Of course, he knew that he could trust Nina and that she felt the same about Eddie as he did about her which meant there was nothing to worry about. But the ever looming threat of an ex-boyfriend trying to win round your girlfriend wasn't something you could simply brush off and relax about. Thus even though he had genuinely enjoyed the company of their American visitors, for it was nice to know Nina had nice friends from back home, he also breathed a silent sigh of relief now that they were leaving. And he thought that Nina might too, he anticipated a slightly wistful mood for her now that they could have more time to themselves. So the fact that she seemed distant, almost doubtful immediately kicked Eddie's brain into action. What had happened?

"Nina?" he prodded once more, hoping to find an explanation to her unsuspected change of mood.

"Yeah, it's just that now my old friends have left, it means that school will be starting. I just don't want anything to change; things are too perfect right now to be ruined" she breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have finally voiced her worries.

"Hey, come here," Eddie turned her around in his arms so that she was now facing him and his lips brushed against her forehead whilst his arms locked around her waist as if reassuring her of his strength-of _their _strength as a couple. Holding her face either side with his hands, he forced her to look into his eyes so she could understand the sincerity coated in his words.

"Nothing is going to change, okay? I love you, we're going to be together and nothing can change that. There's _nothing _you should be worrying about, not even an Ancient Egyptian mystery to solve. The only thing you should be slightly worrying about is the butt load of homework Sweetie's gonna dump on us" he coaxed a smile from her which brightened his mood by a hundred per cent.

"Yeah, cause you actually do homework" she scoffed, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend as she noticed everybody starting to trail back into the house now that the taxi was well on its way to the airport. Reaching for his hand, she joined the stream of housemates headed towards the front door and took a moment to let the happiness sink into her brain, and just let herself be happy for once without the added stress of worry or caution. Without the threat of being killed by an angry ghost or a crazy bunch of teachers, there was really nothing to worry about this year, right?

* * *

Going back to school was nothing like Nina expected.

At all.

Though she'd agonised endlessly over her relationship with Eddie for weeks over who it would potentially hurt in the process, how different it would be to be with someone so, well, different and a hundred other things, the one thing she had never considered was the change in popularity. Nina had always been one of those middle ground sorts of people. She wasn't popular, but she wasn't not popular if that made any sort of sense whatsoever, even with the double negative used. People knew who she was but she wasn't one of the names constantly stained on people's lips for gossip. Sure, when her relationship with Fabian became apparent, people smiled and gave a polite 'you're so cute together!'. It had taken her slightly off guard, but it also made her smile at the seemingly happy comments people made. But that was nothing compared to the buzz making its way around the school about her and Eddie.

She'd never noticed just how popular Eddie had become in his time here, even with the 'son of the headmaster' thing he had going on. Girls were giving her dirty looks, people were suddenly waving at her in the corridor who she'd never even met before, and all of a sudden people wanted to be _her _partner in every class they shared. People were going _nuts_. And it was slightly unsettling to know that her business affected other people so much, and that random girls who she'd never wronged in any way before suddenly hated her for having Eddie as her boyfriend. And so at dinner time, she just wanted to get away from all the whispers that seemed to follow her wherever she turned and found herself sitting in a toilet cubicle. She wasn't going to cry, it wasn't at all insulting but she just missed the quiet and serenity which she was used to. However after a solid ten minutes, she realised that hiding in the toilets wasn't an applicable solution and decided to leave and go find Eddie when the sound of the bathroom door opened and she could hear multiple pairs of shoes entering the toilets. Although she'd agreed with herself to stop hiding, she figured it wouldn't hurt anyone if she just waited until they'd left before making her hasty exit. And so she stayed in the toilet cubicle and accidently overheard the conversation between the girls that had entered only a few moments prior.

"I get what you're saying Amelia, he is _so _out of her league. How did she manage to bag him?" one girl harshly commented, a voice Nina didn't quite recognise gossiping about the latest happenings in the school.

"You're only jealous Maisy" another girl snorted before being joined in laughter by what sounded like one other girl.

"Well, _obviously_! But still, last I heard she was dating that geek Fabian! Now _he's _more in her league" Nina's heart sank as she realised what the three girls were talking about. Her.

"Nope, Chloe told me that he dumped her for Joy" so this was what it was like to know what people really thought about you, Nina realised. Hearing the girls insult her popularity gave her a real sense for the first time since she'd come to this school what people thought about her outside her own group of friends. And she hated it.

"Well it's hardly surprising is it? Joy is gorgeous, obviously. And Nina?" she paused, and Nina could only imagine what the girl was doing on the other side of the door to make the other two laugh so hard.

"She's _just so ugly_!"

"It's not that she's ugly, it's that she's so _fat_!" they all murmured in agreement at this statement and Nina found herself rooted to the spot where she sat on the closed lid of the toilet. Fat? Is that how people referred to her…fat? She knew that she quite obviously wasn't as perfectly faultless as Amber, or as petite as Joy, but she didn't expect that this was what people would say when they talked about her. But now that she thought about it, she'd never been underweight or even slightly skinny. Her Gran had always called her 'healthy' which she took as a compliment- not too big, not too small. Was that just her way of masking an insult? She'd never been one to pass up on a meal, or succumb to a stupid celebrity suggested diet but she thought that that just made her normal. The brutality of these girls' words hit home like a knife being drawn down her side; how could she forget these cruel words now she realised they could well be true?

"It's a wonder Eddie hasn't dumped her sorry ass already" she heard one girl mumble before they all retreated from the bathroom, seeming to have finished whatever it was they went in there to do.

Leaving the cubicle, she immediately sprung towards the mirror to inspect these flaws the girls had no trouble listing off about her. Studying her waist line and where the shirt clung to her hips, she could see the fat barely contained underneath the thin fabric. How had she not noticed it before? She examined her other features; face, arms, legs, and they were all the same. On quick glance, she was perfectly normal but after closely scrutinizing her body as the girls had blatantly done, she could hear their words boom around her head like a bass drum. She _was _fat. She _was _ugly. And she _was _going to lose Eddie if she didn't do something about it.

On her way back to the dinner hall to join her friends, Nina thought more about her relationship with Eddie. She'd never thought about it before, but all Eddie's exes were extremely pretty and well-shaped. Patricia? Well, she was gorgeous. How could Nina compete with that? How could Eddie go for her in the first place? She felt like an elephant walking down the corridors and could feel the stares that followed her every step. But she now knew what they were thinking; how she wasn't good enough for Eddie, how it was insane that someone so fat and consequently ugly could land someone so popular. She didn't like the way people studied her, how they knew before she did what an eyesore she was. And she knew that she was now, there was no denying it once she'd realised it for herself.

As she found the table of her friends in the middle of the hall and slid into a seat on Eddie's side, he beamed at her and she noticed the food littering the table. He was taunting her, and it was cruel. Surely he knew what he was dating? It was as if he was teasing her about her ballooned weight, and this spiteful move to coax her into eating was a shallow blow.

"Hey, want my chocolate bar? I don't feel like finishing it" he asked, and his innocent smile had Nina questioning his intentions. She even almost considered taking it for a moment, but all too soon the harsh words of the bathroom girls swarmed her mind and there was really only one thing she could say.

"No thanks, I don't feel like eating right now"


	21. Chapter 21

This was all unfamiliar territory for Nina; she wasn't one of those looks obsessed girls who scavenged fashion magazines for tips on how to lose weight. But with sudden realisation of her obesity, she had to start finding ways to achieve her required weight. There were moments where she'd feel energized and confident in herself where she'd wonder why she was doing what she was doing and that she didn't need to lose weight for Eddie to love her…but then she'd pass one of those awful girls from the bathroom in the corridor and her happy cloud would sail on past. It was the way their words were laced with such utter disgust, commenting on how revolting she was. She didn't want to be that girl. She didn't want to be the girlfriend Eddie was ashamed of, who he hated being seen in public with because she was an embarrassment. And she knew she was. No matter how sweet and compassionate Eddie acted by interlocking their hands in school or moving his chair a little closer than everyone else in lesson to show his support, it was killing her _knowing _that she was a burden for him. That he was ashamed of her.

The first few days were easy- miss a meal _here_, avoid dessert _there _and Nina was well on her way to her goal. But as days passed, she grew impatient. She realised that there would be no drastic change just because of a few day's diet, and she wouldn't suddenly become this desirable, sexy teenager overnight. But she soon started to worry that when her body did begin to change, it wouldn't be enough. So she decided to step it up a notch. And a few weeks later, she found herself making real progress. But progress came at a cost, she soon found out as a gradually building ache began to gnaw at her insides. She was _starving_.

_Knock, knock._

"Come in" she surprised herself by the coating of weakness in her voice, but passed it off as just one of the things changing in her body that came with being a teenager.

"Hey Nins, dinners ready" Amber chirped in her usual Amber-esque way. After sending a fleeting smile to her roommate, she quickly flounced down the stairs leaving Nina behind in an awe of jealousy. Amber was so incredibly perfect, flawless in every single way and it made Nina ache with exhaustion to see how easily it came to her.

Figuring that it would only be a matter of time before someone else was sent up to collect Nina from her room, she made her way down the stairs and into the dining room. As suspected, everyone else was already seated with one empty seat right next to Eddie. As soon as he caught sight of Nina, Eddie's eyes brightened and a grin fought its way onto his face. But his peaceful features soon turned into a look of worry when Nina stumbled against the table, struggling to keep herself upright.

"Whoa there, are you okay Nins?" Eddie shot over to her side as a deep frown sank its way into his face. Nina struggled to regain composure as her eyes informed her that the room had stopped spinning, and allowed Eddie to guide her to her seat.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just a little tired" she shrugged her shoulders in way of response as everyone settled back into their individual conversations, now satisfied that Nina was okay.

Eddie however was still unsettled and his worried eyes frowned down at Nina before leaning into whisper to her.

"Are you sure everything is fine?" his soft voice drove a tingle dancing along Nina's spine as he swept a stray lock of hair behind one ear.

Attempting a smile, she gently reassured her boyfriend, "yes, of course I am. So you can stop worrying" she hoped her case was strong enough for him to leave it, but she doubted that very much. As everyone else delved into another one of Trudy's mouth-watering home cooked meals, Nina casually drove a few forkfuls into her yearning mouth before resigning herself to pushing the rest of it around her plate. Seeing her friends laughing and smiling, eating as much of the fat loaded food as they wanted, Nina's stomach twisted in agony. It _longed _to be filled for the first time in days, and it took every last ounce of her self-restraint to control her hands from obeying orders. The only thing she allowed herself to think about was the waist line she'd achieve for those hot summer months and the fat she would shed from her chubby thighs. Yes, that was all that mattered. Not the small yet continuous headache pounding its way into her skull, or the dizzy spells she kept experiencing, or the way her stomach screamed at her to feed it. No, that didn't matter at all.

"But I do worry, of course I do. I don't want you to end up in hospital again" Eddie continued, his hand now reaching to hold hers over the table. Didn't he get it? She was doing this for _them_, for _him_.

"Look at me; see? I'm fine" she smiled at him, and this time it was a genuine smile. She couldn't help herself admiring Eddie and his cute concerned manner he brought out just for Nina.

"You better be, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you" he began to nuzzle her neck, eliciting a giggle from Nina.

"Hello, still eating here people" Jerome commented from across the table on noticing Eddie and Nina's embrace.

Nina blushed and avoided everyone's eyes who were staring at the couple amused while Eddie simply shrugged and began attacking his plate still full with food.

_Almost there Nina_, she thought.

* * *

It was later on at night when all the housemates had gathered to sit in the living room for a bit of a social chat that Eddie really became worried. It was scarcely nine o'clock, but Eddie found himself sat on the sofa with Nina curled up in his lap already fast asleep.

"What's the matter with Nina?" Patricia directed her question at Eddie, suspicion clouding her face. At this comment, everyone turned to observe Nina who slept on soundly unaware of the attention she was drawing to herself.

"I have no idea, she just seems so exhausted" Eddie couldn't help the worry niggling away at his insides as he softly played with her hair.

"Maybe you should take her to bed" Fabian suggested, noting how protective Eddie had become over Nina.

"Yeah, you're probably right" Eddie ever so gently began to wrap his arms around Nina's petite waist and carried her up to her room, bridal style. He carefully placed her small, sleeping form under the sheets and stared down at her troubled features before bending down to plant a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you so much" he whispered although he knew there was very little chance of her hearing him, then made his way back down the stairs to join his friends.


	22. Chapter 22

"Nina…"

"Mm?" Nina hazily replied, entering the dining room where all of her friends were sat eating breakfast. She'd just checked the scales this morning and was a little disappointed with the results; not only was she not on target but she was three pounds above where she expected herself to be by now. Suffice to say, after that she had no intention of eating any breakfast whatsoever but thought that she should really show her face and sit with Eddie for a while before morning lessons. She didn't want Eddie dumping her for not spending enough time with him- then this all would have been in vain.

But as she entered, her eyes drifted to Eddie straight away and saw a frown making itself known on his face. _Uh oh_, was all she could think.

"Can I have a talk with you? In private?" Eddie's frown deepened as he examined Nina from head to toe.

"Ooooooo" chorused round their friends, as they laughed at their own joke. But they didn't get it, they didn't understand what 'in private' meant. This meant that it had finally dawned on Eddie what an eyesore he was dating and realised that he needed to finish things as soon as possible. Nina couldn't help but chastise herself for those extra three pounds.

Quietly following Eddie into the hallway, she could hear her own heart beat in her head. For a minute, all Eddie did was stand there observing Nina's on edge behaviour. So far, his frown had failed to remove itself from his face and Nina could see exactly what was coming. And she couldn't help it; she couldn't contain the lone tear that slowly trickled down her cheek.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Eddie queried as he gently wiped away her tear with his thumb. After seeing how close Nina was to breaking down completely, he quickly enclosed her in a tight hug.

"You're dumping me, aren't you?" she mumbled into his chest, trying to understand why he was being so nice when he was about to do such a horrible thing.

"What? No! Of course not! Nina, _I love you_" he soothed, softly playing with her hair as he cradled her into his chest. Her breath hitched into her throat in sheer disbelief. Her body relaxed as she let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding and pulled away from him to search his eyes for some truth behind his words. All she saw was confusion stained in his eyes, mixed with something else that she couldn't quite place.

"Then why did you call me out here, you know, 'in private'?" she questioned, suspicion littering her tone. If he wasn't dumping her, then what was he going to do?

"Nina, I wanted to speak to you in private because I'm worried about you" Eddie explained, reaching out and lacing their fingers together. Both watched them fit together perfectly.

"…Why?"

"Because, you're not _you _lately. You're always tired, dizzy, you struggle to pay attention to any type of conversation, half the time you seem like you're in your own little world, you hardly ever laugh anymore and you've lost your _Nina _smile" he reeled off, voicing his worries that had been gradually building up inside of him.

"If there's something bothering you Nina, tell me. Maybe I could help" he offered, holding her chin with his hand. As if re-emphasizing what he'd just said, he slowly leaned in for a soft, sweet kiss. As he was pulling away, she saw genuine care in his eyes and it stung to know that she had to hide what she was doing from him, even though it was _for _him.

"Eddie, it's nothing"

"Nina, I know when you're lying to me; I can see it written all over your face" he shook his head in exasperation, why wouldn't she let him help?

"Well you're wrong, now would you stop going on about it?"

"_Nina, _I know when something's bothering you. What I don't know is why you won't tell me. What's so bad that you don't want to tell your own boyfriend?"

"Nothing, seriously! Now can we please just go to school already, I don't want to be late…"

"Why are you trying to avoid this so much, what's the matter?"

"I'm fine!" she huffed, wanting the conversation to end. Unless he could help her lose three pounds, she didn't see the point in telling him. All he would do was worry!

"No you're not! Did you not hear what I've just said? Have you not noticed how different you're acting?!"

"It's fine, _I'm _fine! Now would you stop worrying already?!"

"Of course I'm going to be worried! You're my girlfriend! Or did you forget that?"

"How could I possibly _forget _it when you keep nagging me all of the time?! You can't help me Eddie, trust me!"

"How can I trust you when you won't tell me what's wrong?!" Eddie exclaimed perplexed at her behaviour as he shook his head pacing the hallway.

"_Please _Eddie, just _drop it_" she pleaded one last time, hoping for any kind of reconciliation.

"Why don't you trust me?" he sighed, knowing that there wasn't a whole lot more that he wanted to say to her at that point.

"Eddie, I do but-

"Yeah, yeah. You're 'fine'. Whatever" he scoffed before heading for the door.

And she didn't even try to call him back, chase him, or make any sort of effort to go after him and make everything alright again. Instead, she went upstairs to the bathroom in search of the scales. Surely an argument that heated will have burned off _some _calories, right?

* * *

**I've decided exactly what's happening in the next couple of chapters so hopefully you won't have to wait ****_too _****long for an update. Sorry that there isn't a regular gap between chapter updates! It's just whenever I have the time to write and the ideas to write about. This story is also coming to a close pretty shortly and I'm considering ideas for a second based off of this story and centred around Eddie and Nina. In the mean time, check out my other stories on here- all HOA's! They're not really as popular as this one, but i really like them so have a read and see what you think :-)**


	23. Chapter 23

Later that night Eddie couldn't shake off his bad mood and found himself laid on his bed sulking. He was mad with Nina and had been blanking her all day throughout school. It was clear to her what he was doing and so she was equally mad at Eddie. But despite being angry at her for not letting him help her, he couldn't help but miss her. And that made him even madder, the fact that he couldn't go a day without missing her. Since when did he become so needy and pathetic? So mad at himself _and _Nina, Eddie sat wallowing in his own sadness in his room when Fabian walked in.

"Hey, Fabian, my good pal, you…" he began, not quite sure how to voice his worries without sounding too clingy to Fabian's ex-girlfriend.

"What is it? he asked and walked over to take a seat on his bed.

"How did you know I wanted something and wasn't just giving my roommate a friendly greeting?" Eddie questioned in mock offense.

"Because you're you- you don't do friendly greetings unless you've either just been snogging Nina and are in a particularly good mood or you want something" he replied, recalling Eddie's good moods whenever he spots Nina leaving their joint room. He wasn't bitter, he was genuinely happy for the two which made things a whole lot easier for himself and Eddie.

"…Fair enough" Eddie shrugged, concluding there was no point arguing with something that was quite obviously true. Well, he wasn't going to be in a _bad _mood when he'd just been spending time with his girlfriend. The girlfriend of which he was currently residing in a silent argument with. Oh.

"So, what is it you want then?"

"I don't suppose you know what's going on with Nina recently, do you? I mean, you two are quite close" he tried, hoping to find some answers.

"No, but I have noticed how differently she's been acting. It's like she's not even there half of the time when we're talking…" Fabian summarised, realising the truth behind what he was saying. It was only now that Eddie was bringing it up that a small amount of worry began to form in his mind. What was wrong with her?

"Exactly! And she won't tell me what's wrong with her, or even let me help her!" he grumbled, still mad at her resolve to not let him help her.

"Of course not, she's Nina. She never asks for help from anyone; you know how stubborn she gets"

"I don't care! I'm her boyfriend; she should _want _to ask for help from me when she needs it! It's like she doesn't even trust me!" Eddie's frustration began to surface, wishing he could just get through to her. She was really starting to worry him now.

"Now you know that's not true" Fabian exclaimed, shaking his head. He knew how close Eddie and Nina were- they were practically inseparable, it was clear that she trusted him.

"Do I?" he sighed rubbing his temples. He was so sick of drama and it seemed that that's all that he'd been getting lately. "It just seems like it's not her anymore, it's not _my Nina_" he shrugged offhandedly, saddened at the thought.

"Don't worry Eddie, I'm sure she'll come aroun-

Fabian's sentence was cut short as their bedroom door was flung open by a shaken Amber Millington whose face portrayed worry and many more emotions that were passing so fast across Amber's face that Eddie couldn't name them all. Sick of people's constant interference into his life, especially in the mood that he was in at the present time, he rolled his eyes at her dramatics.

"Amber, if this is another one of your hysterics about a broken nail again I don't-

"It's Nina" she paused, waiting to see the effect on Eddie's face when he realised that it was something serious, and how much of a jerk he was being.

Startled by Amber's solemn expression, Fabian raised to his feet to see what had happened. Eddie however, not noticing how serious Amber had become and presuming it was just her about to give him another lecture on being a 'bad boyfriend' , scoffed at her waiting for her to inform him on what way he had to make it up to her now.

"…She's in the hospital again. Guys, this is bad"

* * *

**Short chapter, I know! I apologise but I really just wanted to establish this friendship between Eddie and Fabian, and leave it on a cliff hanger. Hmm, can anyone guess why Nina's in the hospital? (again, should I mention). I know, I'm mean to Nina landing her in the hospital twice in one story. Anyways, for the scarce majority of you who actually read these author's notes (which I never do on other stories) hope you read, enjoy and review guys :-)**


	24. Chapter 24

**Okay, I know I've been AWOL for a while now, and for those of you who actually read this story, sincerest apologies. I've been on holiday and then didn't have time to write. But here is the last chapter, as promised, and I hope you like it and it goes the way you hoped :-) REVIEWWW! :-D**

* * *

Nina's mind was awash with confusion, noticing her unfamiliar surroundings but somewhere at the back of her mind, it stirred an uncomfortable memory that she had a hard time processing. Her head had been placed uncomfortably on a pillow that she knew for certain didn't belong to her and her bedroom back at Anubis. The whitewash walls and brightness of the room gave her headache, so much so that she squinted and began to shift uncomfortably in the bed she realised she was laying on.

"Hey there, sleepy head" a voice stirred her thoughts as she realised who it belonged to. Sat at a chair by her bedside was Eddie, his hand entwined with her right and an impossible mixture of relief and worry etched onto his features.

Oh, _oh_.

Now she remembered. It was as if her confusion had been swept away with a cloud of insight and she suddenly remembered where she was. And why she was there.

"Eddie…" Nina's voice was a cracked impersonation of what it usually was from lack of use and a dry throat.

"Here, have a drink, sounds like you need it" he reached over to the bedside table and handed Nina a glass of water. As their fingers brushed lightly when she reached for the glass, it sent a warm blush across Nina's cheeks. It was stupid, she knew, but she couldn't help it. She was still nervous around him after their last fight and it felt wrong, almost like his touch was foreign to her while they were still on edge with each other.

"_I'm sorry_" they both blurted out at the same time, which immediately relieved any traces of tension left in the room. Instead they began laughing at each other, only gently and a smile settled itself on Nina's face.

"I hate it when you're mad at me" Nina admitted rather sheepishly, exhaling at the same time. It was true; she loved Eddie and being with him made her feel like she could be everything she ever wanted to be and he was the best thing about waking up every morning. But when he was mad at her, it was like the sun was never quite risen high enough to reach her, and the day was as miserable at the night.

"Well, I hate being mad at you. So it's a good job that I'm not anymore, that way we're both happy" he smiled his cheeky little smile that sent a swarm of butterflies through Nina's stomach- every single time.

Nina smiled in return before her eyes wandered around the hospital room she was once again confined to, "jheez, its like this room is my second home these days" she rolled her eyes.

"You're just so much trouble having as a girlfriend" Eddie cheekily replied, but his light-hearted tone made it clear to Nina that he was simply teasing her, and of this she was entirely glad. This was a sure sign that there were no traces of anger left; that he was completely at ease with her again and could afford to joke around. Even so, it felt to Nina as if there was something he was holding back. But Nina couldn't afford to fixate over the possibility that Eddie _might _be holding something back; right now, all she had to think about was that Eddie was here, he wasn't mad at her and he loved her. And that would do just fine.

"Oh haha, aren't you the joker?" she laughed back, smiling like she was the Cheshire cat.

There was a few moments silence where it was all Nina could do to ponder over the features of Eddie's face.

"Why haven't you been eating?" Eddie's voice came out as a soft, cracked whisper, as if it pained him to say the words. His look of happiness had been replaced with a look of angst and pain, and she could see how much he was hurt. But he didn't u_nderstand_.

How did he know this? How could he tell? Would now be the moment she'd dreaded, where he finally finished her? Would he be so cruel as to do it while she was in a hospital nonetheless? She couldn't, just couldn't cope with that. So there was nothing to do but deny it blindly.

"I don't know what you're talking about" but even to Nina's ears, she could hear the unsteadiness hidden in her voice. It was as obvious that she was lying as if she'd had her meal plans for the last month stapled to her forehead.

"Nina…"

"Seriously Eddie, you seem to have gotten your wires crossed somewhere becau-

"_Nina_"

"What, _what?_ What do you want me to tell you?!" she began as tears blurred her vision and there was no point in fighting them as they had already begun to race down her face. She clutched her hands to her mouth as she began to choke out strangled sobs.

She felt the warm arms of Eddie engulf her, gently rocking them back and forth until Nina calmed down enough to get words out without it being closely followed by sobbing. His lips touched upon her forehead and he began to talk in a soft whisper, knowing that if he didn't probe Nina to talk then she wouldn't. He knew how stubborn she could be, even when she was weeping in his arms.

"I was in my room complaining to Fabian about how stubborn you were and how mad I was that you couldn't trust me, I was _so mad at you_. I just couldn't understand why you were acting so strangely and wouldn't talk to me about it, it made me feel so useless and pathetic…but then Amber came in and told us you were rushed to hospital. I just can't explain how my mood changed so quickly; Nina, I was so worried about you. No one could tell me what happened because no one knew, and that made it even worse. All Amber told us was that you'd collapsed while you were out shopping with her and wouldn't wake up. As soon as the doctors let me in to see you, I couldn't handle it. You don't know how scared I was that the girl I loved might not wake up. And then the doctors ran some tests, and that's when they realised how underweight you were. They asked us a bunch of questions, and then we were told how unhealthy your weight was. How you hadn't been eating properly for weeks, maybe longer. And then it all clicked in my head, when it started and why you were acting so differently and looked so tired and weak. Why Nina? What happened?" his voice broke when he asked her why she had done it, and it broke Nina's heart to hear him so desperate. He had to know that it wasn't his fault, that this was entirely down to her.

"I was scared of losing you" Nina confessed what she couldn't bear to say to him for weeks in an almost inaudible whisper. She squeezed her eyes shut as another cascade of tears fell across her cheeks.

"What? Why on earth would you be scared of losing me, and why would you think that starving yourself would stop it from happening?" his exasperated tone tore at Nina's heart so much that she felt she had to explain everything that had happened to ensure he never spoke with such sadness again.

"The day we went back to school and everyone knew that we were together, it was just a little overwhelming, you know? So I went to the bathroom to just relax a little and these girls came into the bathroom talking about this awful girl and about how ugly and…_fat _she was. How she didn't deserve a boyfriend and he was sure to dump her soon. It took me a while to work out that they were talking about me" she admitted meekly, comforted by the warmth Eddie's embrace provided her with.

"Who? Who were these girls?" Nina could hear Eddie's jaw clench as he calmly asked her.

"It doesn't even matter; it didn't matter who said it, what mattered was that it could have been true. And when I looked in the mirror…I finally saw everything that they saw. I saw how _fat _I was, and I hated it. I resented myself for it. But worst of all, all I could think about was how they said I could lose you because of it. And I just couldn't bear the thought of losing you Eddie" and at that point Nina's lip trembled and she cursed the pathetic tears determined to show how weak and vulnerable she truly was.

Eddie turned her around in his arms to face her and gently held her face in his hands so that their foreheads rested against one another's.

"Nothing, ever, could stop me from loving you. Not if you gained five hundred pounds or stayed exactly the way you were. Nina, _I love you_. You are everything to me, and I couldn't stop that if I tried. Those girls were just spiteful bitches who were jealous of what we have, of how truly _beautiful _and _perfect _you are. Don't you dare ever try to change for them, or for me again. You are _mine _and you are _perfect_" he explained, kissing her gently every time he finished a particularly stressful point, as if this would strengthen what he was saying. It was working.

"Really?" Nina whimpered, trying to control the stem of tears lingering behind her eyes.

"Yes, really. Now promise me that you'll start eating and never, _ever _do anything like this again" he demanded, kissing her again but more slowly and more passionately than he had before.

"I promise" Nina smiled.

And that was a promise that she could keep.


End file.
